Hidden Magic
by ninja-lemondrop15
Summary: The Wizard has been ostrasized, cast out of society for a crime he didn't ? commit. Will it take the love of a quiet newcomer to find the truth? Can fantasy be a reality? Are happy endings possible in such a dark and biased world?...We'll see.
1. Welcome, Mobdie!

**Geezaloo, if you're reading this, then I must have _finally_ gathered enough courage to publish something _and_ figured out how to do it! *pats back* Yes! Anyway, if this chapter seems a little short, it's because I normally write _way_ too much extra info and I'm trying to break the habit. Plus, it was a whole lot looooongerrrr on MicWord. The next chapters will be longer, trust me.**

**My lil' sis is the one who came up with this, and since I love her and the plot sounds cool (and she won't let me sleep at night unless I do this! jk don't kill me Loony!) I'm doing it. (btw, I'm not giving out our real names, but I'm not gonna refer to her as lil' sis all the time, cuz' that'd take too long. I'll call her Loony, and myself Candy, because we're just like Luna and Candace in these games!)**

**This isn't just a oneshot, people. It's gonna take a while, because we have it aaaall planned out, and I like stories that way. But suggestions are definetely welcome, b/c I'm definetely gonna need some help. _Please_ review if you actually stick with this story, and _pleeeease _don't just bash me b/c I have the most frageelee ego _ever_. **

**Okay, I'll shut up now. Thx and enjoy!**

* * *

The waves lapped against the wooden pier as Pascal led me into the dark town. Only a few lights hanging outside of the various buildings lit our path. I stuck close behind him, fearful of being lost in these foreign surroundings.

I let go a sigh of relief when he opened the door to the inn. With a tip of his captain's hat and a gentleman's smile, he nodded me in. "Good luck, missy."

I smiled nervously and watched the only person I knew on this island close the door before turning slowly to survey my new home for the night.

A bright pink poof of a girl skipped over to me. "Hiya I'm Maya and you must be the new person so pleased to meet you (!) are you tired at all I bet you are or maybe you're hungry would you like something to eat (?) here I made cookies-"

"Maya!" A short pink-haired lady with a big mouth bustled up. "So sorry dearie. My granddaughter is quite excitable. She just can't help herself when she sees a new face 'round here."

"Yeah, since nobody ever comes anymore!" Maya chirped. "Don't you know how hard it is to run an _inn_ when there's no one to _stay in_ it (?) super hard oh cupcakes (!) it's hard now about those cook-"

"Ahhaha Maya dear, why don't you go and tidy up the kitchen? I'll have Jake take her to her room. You must be awfully tired, right dearie?"

"Oh umm yeah…" I scratched my head and spoke to the little wooden chair to her left. "It was a long ride, so, um, yeah."

"Jake!" The lady yelled. "Come here and take care of…ah, what's you're name dearie?"

"Molly." I mumbled.

She looked mildly stunned. "Serious? Okay – Take Mobdie to her room!"

"Huh? Nono, I said _Molly_."

"Ohhhh. Look kid, you've got to speak up around me. Correction, Jake!" she bellowed. "It's Emily!"

I almost corrected her, but then I was hit with a huge wave of drowsiness. Suddenly, I didn't care if they knew me as Mobdie. I just wanted the sweet sensation of my head hitting stiff cotton pillows. Thankfully, a graying man – Jake – came and showed me to a room so I could do just that. I don't think it took me five minutes to start dreaming.

**** :****3**** ****

I woke up to the familiar sounds of fighting. Great. Now I'd have to wait to go and eat. My stomach spoke up, trying to veto as I waited. But I ignored it, opting instead to press my ear to the door. I heard a complaint, a retort…someone stomped their foot and…ooh, was that the smashing of a cup? Then stomping and the slamming of a door while a high pitched voice yelled after the person leaving.

Once I finally deemed it safe, I walked out to survey the result. I didn't see anyone until a head popped up from behind the counter. She wiped at her light aqua eyes and gave me a watery smile. "He's always like that. Refuses to eat my food. I mean I try my hardest and everything to make him the best snacks ever but he just doesn't oh well he's missing out stupid butthead."

Poor girl. "Oh, well, I'm sure that your food's fine, Maya. He must have some kind of problem." I paused and coughed. "Ah, who exactly are we talking about?"

"Chase!" Maya started sweeping up the bits of a tea cup angrily. "He always disses my food but he's missing out right (?) hey you want some since _he_'s not gonna I worked all morning on it here." She shoved a plate under my nose, and I almost dry heaved right then and there. I'd assume it was something breakfast-y, but it didn't look like anything _I've _ever come across before. It was still jiggling even though her arm was stable, and it was a deep puce in color. Homer Simpson wouldn't eat that!

"Um…I…uh…see…" I was saved from near death by a short man with an impossible grey hairdo who jiggled as much as Maya's creation. "OOOH, good _morning_ my dear girl! Today is your lucky day!"

Really? 'Cuz it only went downhill from there.

**

* * *

**

**Loony: You just _had_ to stick your name in there?**

**Me: What? Mobdie?**

**Loony: *glares* You know what I mean.**

**Me: Well...It really sounds like that when you mumble 'Molly'. Honest!**

**Loony: *starts stalking toward me with an evil aura***

**Me: Well-gotta-go-homework-to-do-places-to-see-please-review-bye! *runs and hides behind locked door***

**Loony: *turns and smiles sweetly* Thank you very much. And since we don't want any lawers on our front step, neither me nor Candy owns Harvest Moon. Byebye!**


	2. Surviving Encounters of the Jerk Kind

**Hmmm. I don't think I've completely figured this out yet...How _do _you add a new chapter? Me thinks I'm not doing it the correct way, but the guide's _sooooo confusiiiiiing_. *moans _really loudly_***

**Loony: *from other room* Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate!**

**Me: Bite me!**

* * *

I slid down the wall next to the closed door in the silent house. I thumped my head on the way down, then once more for good measure. I wasn't quite sure _what_ I was doing in this place. It was dark – All I could see were the dark forms of furniture (but thankfully, none that looked human in shape). There was a huge clutter of books, parchment, and other odds-and-ends that I couldn't make out piled in the corner to my right. There was some furniture lining the wall to my left, dark and ominous shapes that I couldn't quite make out.

You might be wondering why I'm hiding out in such a place. Well, I have a good reason, to me at least. Let's recap, shall we?

* - - - *

"OOOH, good _morning_ my dear girl!" Jolly Jiggles threw his short arms into the air and waved them about. He kinda looked like a squawking chicken when he did that. "Today is your lucky day!"

"…Hwuh?"

"I'm Mayor Hamilton, m'lady, mayor of this wonderful island that you so graciously chose to farm on! You're too kind, my dear – ah, what's your name?"

"Emily!" Maya piped up.

Shoot. "Oh, um, no, it's actually Mo-"

"Come come, dear Emily, for I must show you all of this beautiful island and all its amazing inhabitants!"

Mayor grabbed my arm and dragged me out the inn door. "-olly."

And I _still_ hadn't had breakfast.

…

"And this here is Selena, Kathy, and Haydon! Say hiya, Emily!"

I waved shakily at the people Hamilton was pointing at. The man – Haydon – nodded at me in an intimidating way, crossing his big hairy arms. The blonde girl smiled warmly, but the exotic one in the purple genie outfit scowled. "What's _she_ here for?"

"Why, Emily here intends to start a farm, Selena. Isn't that right, Em-"

"Y-you're wrong!"

He froze, looking like a baby who was told that they couldn't have that giant chocolate bar in front of them. "Wh-what do you mean? You came here to f-farm! There's a plot of land and a house and a barn and a coop with your name on it!"

I rose my hands, trying to speak so that he could hear. Kinda hard when he didn't shut up. "No, yes, yeah, I'm gonna start a farm, don't you worry. It's just, my name's _Molly_. Got that?"

Selena laughed, a hard bark full of conceit. "What do you know? It _speaks_." My face immediately flared up. "Well, I'd simply love to stay, but I've gotta go practice my _dancing_. I'm the Brass Bar's _dancer_, did you know? So if you're thinking of stealing my job, don't." As she passed by me, a cloud of tropical scents enveloped me as she muttered for me alone to hear. "_Not that I have anything to worry about. You haven't got the body for it, twiggy._"

I blinked at the ground, mouth firmly shut. She was right, of course. I had practically no curves, something she sure had in surplus. And I danced like a drunk lumberjack with two left feet and manacles on his ankles. So…in other words…not very good.

I heard a loud sigh. A pair of cowboy boots appeared in my view. Kathy tipped up my head to face her. "Don't let 'er get to you. She's really sweet when yah get to know 'er, she's jist not comfortable yet here. On-edge, yah know? She'll warm up, don't yah worry."

Haydon nodded and smiled. "Meh daughter's right. But I might have ter talk to 'er."

I managed a smile, though I was a bit surprised. His soft voice didn't match his scary exterior. "Oh, thanks."

Kathy looked over her shoulder and giggled. "You'd better git going. Mayor's torturing poor Candace again." He was animatedly talking to some girl with big blue braids and a sad face, at least what wasn't being covered by her thick bangs was sad. "So long, Molly!" She waved, walking into the Brass Bar. "Come see us when yer all settled!"

…

After I had met the women of the tailor shop (Loved Candace. She was like me, only quieter. Luna was…interesting. She kept shoving dresses at me, saying everything just wasn't my color. Ms. Shelly could barely contain her), Hamilton brought me to the Clinic (Dr. Jin was super somber, but wouldn't stop staring at me. Irene just eyed me like a hawk.), the photography shop (where I got me a free camera! Whipee!), the fishery, and finally the Town Hall. He bounced over to a boy sitting at the counter, reading a book. "Gilligan! Any news?"

He sighed, and without looking up said dryly, "What do _you_ think? And don't call me that, Father."

He turned and winked at me, grinning. "Real charmer, my Gill is. Look up, son! This is Molly."

Gill looked up skeptically. When he saw me, he immediately stood up and held out his hand. "Gill Hamilton. I'm the Assistant Mayor of the island."

I felt my eyebrows rise slightly, but shook his hand. His handshake was firm and quick. "Er, nice to meet you."

"Well!" Hamilton clapped us both on the back, making him cough and me stagger. "Now that she's in your hands, I've got to go check up on things. Bye bye!"

"Wait. What?" I called after him. He responded by slamming the door.

Gill frowned. "I should've known he'd pull something like this. He's got the attention span of a monkey chewing on cardboard."

I giggled once, but tried to frown. "How can you talk of your father like that?"

"Easy." He turned and started reading again, leaving me to wonder what to do. Finally, I leaned over and tried to read too. He cleared his throat pointedly and turned. "Can't you do something else besides breathing in my ear?"

"Uh, w-well…" I stuttered. "Your dad only showed me the town, and I still don't know where my new home is. Or the church. Do you have a place to worship?"

"Walk out the door, take a right, then another right, and go straight up the path."

"Okeeday." I strode purposely out the door and proceeded straight across the bridge. "…Wait a second…"

Gill looked up when I entered, obviously annoyed. "Don't tell me you-"

"Can you repeat those directions again?" I grinned sheepishly.

"It's simple. Walk out. The. Door. Take. A. Right. Then…" He sighed and tossed his book aside. "_Never mind_. I always have to do everything around here."

Near the top of the path, I pointed out a particularly weird building. "Who lives there?"

"Ahhh, no one really." He scratched his head nervously, playing with the prominent cowlick.

"Really? Why not? It's a cool looking house…"

"It's…a touchy subject."

"What hap-"

"Just leave it!"

I blinked and bit my lip. I hated getting yelled at. "….Sorry..."

He sighed, but didn't say anything.

The small white church sat in front of us. It was cute, but not very impressive. "Thanks for showing me here. I don't want to be a burden anymore, so I'll find my way home."

Gill snorted. "No, it's my duty to show you around."

"Yeah, 'cuz he's just so dutiful like that." Someone sneered behind us. I jumped and whirled around, but Gill just sighed. "Good evening, Chase."

Huh, the name sounds familiar. The boy was tall, with strawberry-blonde hair. He narrowed his purple (purple?) eyes. "Whose this?"

"I-I'm Molly. Pleased to meet…I-I mean, hello."

"Well, let me give you a tip, kid. Gill's middle name is 'boring'. Like yours is 'jackhammer'."

"…J-jack…hammer?"

He nodded. "Your stutter?" He clasped his hands under his chin, bent his knees to my level, and widened his eyes. "'J-j-jackha-a-ammer?'" He squeaked, lips trembling.

My cheeks flushed. "N-now I know where I've heard you before. You argued with M-maya this m-morning."

"'M-m-maya this m-m-m-morning?'" He stopped the impressions. "Yeah."

"You shouldn't make fun of her. She k-kinda nice, unlike you! And her food's not _that _– uh – bad…" Umm, yeah, it was. Stop now, Molly, you're starting to act too stupid.

"Really? Tell me, are you insane, are you exceedingly stupid, or are you just sticking up for one of the losers that actually like you on this island? And yes, I put you in the 'loser' category, Lil' Ham," he said coolly, nodding at Gill.

Gill scowled, his cheeks starting to rise in color.

Normally, I hate being mean to anyone, even if they practically hand me a card saying, 'I'm a horrible, evil a-hole. Slap me, please,' I never have, though. But this guy was just evil. "You j-jerk," I started real low, "I bet you can't even cook good yourself, so you're always putting down others, trying to feel better. Is that right? That you suck at cooking, Mr…Mr…?"

"Mr. Cooke."

"…C-Cooke?" Gee, I really stepped in it this time. Not only did he wear an _apron_, his name was _Cooke_. Open mouth, insert foot.

"That's right." He took a slow step towards me, then another.

Gill cleared his throat. "Come on, Molly. I have to get you to your house soon." He tugged at my sleeve once, then started walking away to another path.

"Hey." Chase leaned in, firmly placing himself in my personal space. I cringed at his expression. It was…dangerous, somehow. Like I had just played with a fatal fire. "Come to the Brass Bar tonight, and I show you what good food is about. Six o'clock."

I pulled away jerkily and ran after Gill.

I found him waiting next to… "A mine cart?"

He nodded. "Get in."

I stood just outside of it. "Umm, are you sure about this? It d-doesn't look too stable, and I…I can't see where it leads to. It's just pitch black…"

"You'll be _fine_. Everyone uses it all the time."

I slowly climbed in. Even though I went cautiously, I still managed to catch my foot on the rim, nearly getting a face-full of splinters (or worse, Gill). "I can't believe I'm _doing_ this…"

I settled in the back behind Gill, who reached down and moved a lever. The cart started creeping toward the tunnel. "Wait wait stop!" I panicked, grabbing his arm. "I changed my mind please stop it nononononoooo!" And we were swallowed up in the void.

All the blood left my face, and I felt myself go numb. I couldn't feel a single thing. Well, almost. I felt my stomach with crystalline clarity, every jump, every twist, every turn. I held on to Gill for dear life and shut my eyes, wishing for it to end.

"…Molly."

"~_whimper_~"

"Molly!"

"I-i-is it ov-v-ver?"

"Yeah. Listen, my arm's losing circulation, so before it completely falls off, can you let go?"

I opened my eyes and grinned guiltily. "Oops. Heheh…"

He rolled his eyes and helped me out. My feet didn't hit the ground before someone picked me up. "HIYA NEW PERSON!!!" He yelled, spinning me around and around, not helping my mine cart-induced motion sickness.

"Luke!" Gill scolded. "Put her down before she throws up!"

"Wha-?" The guy immediately dropped me. I staggered and ended up falling on my butt. "EEEEW! Gross!"

"You okay, chick?" A deep voice asked.

I couldn't get up yet, so I just waved my hand. "I'm f-fine." I looked up to meet my attackers. One with a shock of messy blue hair and a fire bandana – I'm pretty sure he's the one who nearly killed me – jumped up and down with a huge, happy-go-lucky grin. The other was…huge. Seriously jacked, muscles bulging. He scared me just looking at him. He grinned and winked.

Bandana Boy jumped over and yanked me up. "Sorry about that, newbie! I was just so…soooo…EXCITED to see ya! WELCOME TO THE ISLAND!!!"

"Shut up, Luke…" Gill muttered, covering his ears.

"It's _great_ to meet you, bright eyes." Red-haired Chuck Norris smiled and stepped forward. Geez, what was it with guys getting in my face today? I took a step towards Gill, away from… "The name's Owen, Owen Smith…but you can call me whatever you want, sugar."

Luke grabbed both my hands and yanked them up and down – a sugar-high handshake (or should I say earthquake?) "What's YOUR name??"

"Her name's Molly, and I'm showing her to her new house." Gill pulled me away from Luke's tight grasp, only to have me pulled back to Owen's side.

"I can take care of her, Gillers. You run along and do…whatever it is you do in your trivial job." I staggered as he started to lead me away.

Now wait a second, I don't want to go with them! This Luke seemed sweet enough, but Body Builder here was just a big bully. He looked down and started playing with my little cowlick, twisting it around his sausage finger. I shivered and tried to yank my arm away, but his grip was tight. Great. Not only was he a bully, but a perverted, touchy-feely bully. "Hey, you should let her go." Luke said, finally not yelling. "That's not nice."

"Hey! Get back here and leave her alone!" Gill yelled, running after us. "This is _not_ being civil, Mr. Smith!"

"HelloOOooo! What have we here?" a flamboyant voice called. Someone with saucy red eyes and beautiful long purple hair walked up. "Oooh, just like in the movies. The plot, she thickens!" She held up a long hand in a graceful gesture. "But I'm afraid that it stops here. Let's be _gentlemen_, shall we?"

Owen looked like he was about to say something, but then the woman back-hand knocked the door to a shop with a blacksmith's sign over it. As fast as he had grabbed me, he let go and got a healthy distance from me. He frowned at me, disappearing into the mine entrance.

Luke shrugged and smiled at me and Gill, already forgetting that I had just been harassed by the Incredible Hulk. Or maybe he just never really understood it. "Sorry 'bout that! Have a good day, and maybe I'll see ya around, Molly!" He skipped off, an axe bouncing on his shoulder.

The lady sighed dramatically. "I don't know _how _we all deal with him. Lukie's okay, but Owen's a bad egg. Stay away from him at all cost, sweetie."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice!" I laughed nervously. "Thank you!"

"Oi!" A grumpy looking old man poked his head out of the door that she had just knocked on. "Was that you, Chloe? I'm telling you for the _last_ _time_, it's _not_ _funny_!" He glared at the woman. "Wait, it was you, Julius?"

WHAT? Julius…Isn't that a boy's name?

Julius laughed merrily, and this time I could hear the lower tone to his squeal. "Oooooh, no. I think you're hearing things, Mr. Ramsey!"

Thank god I learned his gender this way. I was about to ask him if Owen had harassed him, too.

When the man closed the door, I said breathlessly, "Thank you _so much_, Julius! I was _so_ confused back there."

He winked, but it wasn't a gross wink. "No problem, doll!"

"I had it under control," grumbled Gill.

"Is there any way I can pay you ba-?"

"Oh noooo, you don't need to do anything for me!" He shook his head, but then he froze and eyed me up and down. "Actually, there _is _something…"

Oh, god. He's not going to go all perverted like Owen, was he? I looked over at Gill for guidance, but he was just rolling his eyes and shaking his head. I stiffened when Julius walked closer and started pulling at my clothes, expecting the worse. But he just clucked his tongue and exclaimed, "Honey, I'm going to _make_ _you_ _over_!"

**

* * *

**

**Shiver, man, shiver! _Hiiiissssssss, no makeover! Don't you even _think _of comeing near me with that lipstick, hissssss!_ (This was me at a birthday party. It wasn't any use - I became their personal Barbie doll.)**

**And okay, I'm going to stress this right now and save myself the trouble. I DO NOT HATE OWEN!!! I don't hate ANYBODY on this game! But I tried writing a couple stories where everyone was nice and everything was hunkydoory great, and it's just _boring_. And since Owen's basically the only dude I've seen so far who wasn't mean in any (Loony even saw one where Toby was a jerk!) I decided to make him the perv. But I DON'T HATE HIM!!!**


	3. Silent Sanctuary

**Me: Okay, this is the last of what I've already written before I published this, so I'm a _leetle_ scared. But, good news, this is the one where Wizzy shows up! Your patience has been paid!**

**Loony: _Don't call him Wizzy! It sounds like he needs to pee all the time, and I hate it!_**

**Me: ~I know!~ ;D**

* * *

"There it is." Gill gestured to the little house.

"Really?" I gasped in awe. The yellow paint was peeling, and bits and pieces of lumber leaned against the sides. The chicken coop and barn were in similar conditions. Sure, it was the biggest frickin' mess I'd ever seen, but it was _my_ mess!

I jumped in the air and whooped. Gill rolled his eyes. "You're starting to act like Luke."

I tapped my bottom lip, thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess I am. And while I'm still in the mood…" I hugged him as hard as I could. "Thanks for showing me around! And helping me with everything! And saving me from Julius's clutches!"

"Postponed, you mean. There's no true escape when it comes to him. I give you a month at best before he drags you to the Tailor Shop."

"Ahh, nothing like knowing you can't escape something." I said sadly. "Hey, what time is it?"

"4:50. Why?"

"Speaking of not escaping…" I turned and started down a path, "I gotta go to the Brass Bar. That Chase guy challenged me to come."

"Oh Goddess." Gill muttered, following me. "Okay, number one, you're going the wrong way…"

"Shoot!" I spun on my heel.

"…And number two, can I write your epitaph?"

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes. "I'm not too worried. What, you think he's gonna poison the food? Nah, he's just all bark and no bite."

"That's what the _last_ person's _last _words were."

"Gee, embellisher, much?"

- - -

Kathy walked up to us as soon as we entered the bar, giving Gill a particularly weird look. "Hey-yah, how's it goin'? Table for two?"

"Sure." Gill frowned at me, "And let Mr. Cooke know that we're here, I wish to see how this plays out."

She gave him another funny look, and squinted at me too. "Ohhhhhkay then. Sit…wherever...I'll be righ' back. With the menus. Yeah."

"No need!" called Chase, holding up a couple of plates. "I already have the food ready."

"_AWW_!" Kathy yelped, rounding on me. "So _that's _wha' this is all about? I wondered why yer in such a good mood, Chase. Moll', didja make fun of his cooking in any way?"

"Umm…yeah…" I gave an unsure smile, shooting nervous glances at everyone in the room. Haydon was shaking his head, wiping a glass clean and muttering, "Kids dese days…Hoo boy…"

Selena was just dancing, watching us, craning her neck over her shoulder when she had to. "I don't know _why_ you're so jumpy, Mollers. Chasie's food's delicious."

He set down the two plates. One had some multicolored thing on it, the other was a slice of strawberry shortcake, strawberries lining the sides with one on top. Well, he certainly had a flair for arrangement. Julius would approve. "Now before you start," he held a fork up, "You have to say again what you said in the courtyard."

"I don't remember exactly." I poked the colorful thing. "Wazzat?"

"Just give me the jist of it."

"Okay, ummm…" I slouched and stared at the ceiling, hoping to ignore all the eyes watching me. I hated being in the spotlight. "Ahhhhh…"

Gill sighed and grumbled. "She said, 'You jerk I bet you can't even cook well yourself so you're always putting down others trying to feel better is that right that you suck at cooking, Mr. Cooke?"

"Actually, I think I said 'you can't even cook _good_', not _well_."

"Yes, but that's not proper grammar, now is it?"

I stuck out my tongue at him.

"So, you basically said that my food stank." The cook held out the fork to me. "Now eat."

I took the fork, but just stared at the multicolored thing, sniffing it.

"Hey, you awake? I said _eat_."

"Yeah, but you never told me what that thingy is."

He sighed exasperatedly. "That's _ratatouille_. It's made of-"

I jerk from the food. "_Rat_atouille!? Rat? Ew! Who eats _rat_??"

He knocked me on the head with a wooden spoon (where did _that_ come from??), then Gill flicked me in the same spot. "As he was saying, it's a French dish made of a variety of vegetables, giving it a colorful look. It's very good for you."

"That's what my parents said about Brussels sprouts and liver. Yeah that's right, I'm onto you people. I'll pass."

"_Just try it already!_" hissed Chase.

I got a bit on my fork and held it in front of my face. Ever the procrastinator, I sniffed it and shot a sideways glance at the cook. "You sure you didn't poison it?"

"That's a good idea," he said acidly. "I'll remember that next time I cook for you!"

"Who said there'd be a next time?" I hated eating in front of people. No matter how small a bite I take, I still look like a chipmunk. Nevertheless, I stuck it in my mouth and slowly chewed.

Wow.

Woweezowee.

I guess I looked surprised, because Chase smiled triumphantly.

"See how foolish you are? See how amazing I am?"

"See how big your head can get?" I scowled. Sure, this wasn't the smartest bet I had made, but I still hated being proved wrong.

Kathy guffawed, Gill rubbed his temples with a small smile.

He put a hand flat on the table and leaned into my personal radius again. "Say I'm amazing."

"Chase, she's had enough." Kathy scolded. "Lookit how red 'er face is. You've made yer point."

"Say it. Say, 'Chase, I was wrong.' Say, 'You're actually better than Julia Child, Yolanda, and my Grandma put together.' No, let's make this even better. 'Your food was absolutely perfect, just as delicious and beautiful as yourself.' Yeah, let's go with that."

"Can't you grow up?" growled Gill.

"Oi!" Haydon finally intervened. "Git back here and do yer job, boy! We got anothr' customer."

Chase gave me a look that obviously communicated that this wasn't over before going to get the other customer's order. Oh joy, another person who got to see my misery. I turned around to see who it was.

…!!!

Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy _me??_

Owen grinned and walked over, Chase – who was still waiting for his order – trailing him. "No worries, Peachy. I'm good." He made himself comfortable across from me and Gill and promptly started stuffing his mouth with _my_ shortcake. The nerve! I mean, sure, I wasn't planning on eating it, but how 'bout some manners? Please and thank you? "What's happinin', hot stuff?"

I crossed my arms and leaned back, ignoring him. "How's it going, Gill?"

Gill: "Oh, fine."

Owen: "I _said_, what's hap-"

Me: "Did ya see the game last night?"

Owen: "Hey-"

Gill: "Huh? What ga-?"

Me: "Yeah, that was some play that one guy did. Can you believe it?"

Gill: "Uh…"

Owen: *slams tabletop, causing earthquake on other side of the Earth* "Hey!"

I looked over sweetly, cocking my head slightly. "~Yes?~"

He frowned, but quickly composed himself. He leaned back with his hands behind his head and settled his feet on my lap. I glared. "Get your feet off of me."

Gill wrinkled his nose. "I wondered what that stench was."

"But I'm so tired." He grinned, a toothy wolf smile. He poked my stomach with the toe of his boot.

Okay, that's it. I shoved them off of me and brushed off the dirt from my skirt. "You're disgusting."

"Ooh, ouch. I'm hurt deeply. Why does a sweet face like yours have to be so pinched? It's unbecoming."

"It has been my observation," rambled Gill, "that her face is only tense when you or Chase is around."

"Hey, that means you have the hots for me!" Owen leaned over the table. "'Course, who wouldn't? How 'bout a kiss?"

I pushed my chair back and looked away. I caught Kathy staring at us. Then again, everyone was, not counting Haydon. I wasn't quite sure where he was… Not having him around made me even more tense.

Kathy narrowed her eyes at me before whirling away.

Gill got up. "Hey, Molly, maybe I should get you home. It's starting to get too dark."

I got up gratefully. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." I walked over to Kathy. "Here's the money for that food. I guess you can tell Chase it was good." I smiled, but she just took it and turned away.

Gill and I were by the Tailor Shop when Owen caught up with us. I won't give any details, but the next thing I knew, Gill wasn't there and Owen was. It was too dark to distinguish faces, but all of a sudden the figure next to me became 6 ½ feet tall and bulky. Of course, I freaked. "Where's Gill??"

"Oh, he decided to let me walk you home. He has duties, you know."

Without warning, he grabbed my shoulders hard and slammed his lips to mine.

I immediately started struggling. "MMPHHTTFMM!!!" When it was apparent that force alone wouldn't work, I bit down as hard as I could on his tongue (No, I don't know how far it was down my throat, and I don't _want_ to know), tasting blood. He jerked away, and I managed to slip into the darkness. Adrenaline making me reckless, I didn't run straight to the Tailor Shop. What if it took them forever to answer the door? And he'd know where I was! So I sprinted up the street. At the top of the town, I heard heavy foot steps behind me. My breath quickened even more.

I darted to my left and hoped that the building's door was unlocked. Thank god, it was. I whirled in and closed the big wooden door as quietly as I could, considering that my nerves and heart and muscles were on fire. I pressed my ear to the door breathlessly. The shock and fear coursing through by body made every sound magnified ten times, but also made the silence more heavy.

About seven minutes passed, and still nothing. I decided that that was a safe enough time to calm down, but not enough to leave my sanctuary. Of course, my heart didn't quite understand that that first thing.

I slid down the wall next to the closed door in the silent house. I thumped my head on the way down, then once more for good measure. I wasn't quite sure _why_ I had chosen this place. It was dark – All I could see were the dark forms of furniture (but thankfully, none that looked human in shape). There was a huge clutter of books, parchment, and other odds-and-ends that I couldn't make out piled in the corner to my right. There was some furniture lining the wall to my left, dark and ominous shapes that I couldn't quite make out.

"_Do not worry…You are…safe…_"

Whoa. I guess my mind really wanted my body to calm down.

Ten minutes passed. It's perfectly quiet now. Spooky as this place is, I think I like it. This is the first time I've been able to close my eyes and really think without interruption. Maybe I'll come here more often. It'll be my perfect hideout.

Oh my god. It finally hit me, what just happened. My first kiss on this island was stolen by a _pervert_. It was absolutely disgusting. How can guys do this stuff to us? I started really shaking. A few tears rolled down my face. "_It's…okay…_"

Fifteen mintues. I wonder if Gill's all right? Who am I kidding, he's probably unconscious in a ditch. I'd better go help him. I got up with a sigh and settled my hand on the doorknob.

"_He's fine, you know…He is being cared for…by the tailors…_"

"Eeep!" I clutched the doorknob tight and shoved my ear to it. I didn't recognize that voice, and now I was _sure_ it wasn't my mind. But…unless I was going crazy…that sounded like…like it was coming from my mind.

Wow. I'm getting more paranoid as we speak.

I sighed and started opening the door. "You're going nuts, girl." I whispered.

"_Please…don't go. Your aura is very…calming._"

Well! Don't mess with your mind. It knows all.

But what if Gill really _wasn't_ okay? I'm being ridiculous right now. I shook my head as I left the house and started down. "_Good night…Miss Molly…_"

I knocked on the Tailor Shop door. I noticed someone peek through the curtains before Candace opened the door. "I-i-it's almost s-seven. What d-do you need?"

"Is Gill here?"

"Is that Molly?" Gill came limping up. "You okay?"

I felt my jaw drop. "Gill! You look like that, and you ask me how _I'm _doing??" His precious clothes were dirty, his perfect hair disheveled, and there were a bunch of red scratches along his face and hands.

"Oh, it's okay. He just shoved me to the ground, that's all."

"Boy," I shook my head wonderingly. "When you fall down, you fall down _hard_." I snapped my fingers. "You should press charges."

He looked at me like I was stupid. "On what grounds? I'll be fine in the morning, and it's too trivial a case."

"Ohhh." I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "Sorry. Where I come from, you can sue anyone who looks at you funny and get away with it!"

"Gill!" Luna barked, coming up behind him with a wet washcloth. "Get back on the couch, and don't get up until we're done caring for you!"

"I…I'm not a child!"

"That's what you think!"

Hmmm. _Caring_ for him? '_He is being cared for…by the tailors…_'

"Well, now that I know you're okay, I'm going home! Night!"

Candace held up one shaking hand. "W-w-w-wait. What ab-b-bout Owe-?" I slammed the door and ran back to the quiet house.

The door creaked when I sloooooowly opened it. If I'm right, this is the scene where the girl gets stabbed by the ax murderer in horror movies…Ug! Don't think about that stuff! "H-…Hello?" Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that's what the girl says before a tip knife appears in her che-

"_…Hello…_"

"Ummm…Sooooo…" What to ask first? How did you know about Gill? Are you just a figment of my imagination? Am I going crazy? Yeah, that's the most logical answer. How about… "Who…?" No…"_What_ are you…?"

"_…_"

"…"

"…_Do you promise…to keep a secret?_"

Huh. Of course. But now I'm afraid as to what secret we're talking about.

"_I can tell…that you can. But you are…worried…I do not wish to worry you…_"

"Oh! Y-you don't have to, Mr…whoever you are."

"_I am…the Wizard._"

"…" Is that the best my mind can come up with? Pitiful.

"_You do not believe me…?_"

"Oh sorry!" I wrung my hands nervously. "I-I'm not quite s-sure what to believe anymore… My mind's still reeling."

"_Ah, yes…your _assault_…_"

"It wasn't _that _bad. He just forced a k-kiss, it can happen to anyone… N-not that I'm speaking from lots of _experience _or anything!"

"_…_"

"So…Mr. Wizard…Can I see you?" 'Cuz I'm still not sure if you're real.

"_…_"

Frostiness. "S-sticky subject, eh? Okay, I'll just…go now…?" I walked out and took one last look behind me before setting off.

_*** A dark figure placed his hands on the banister of the platform, staring at the closed door. "You are simply…not yet ready. Good night, Miss Molly…" ***_

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**Hmmm...When _will_ she be ready? Probably soon, becauze Loony vill keel me eef he duzzent show heez face zoon.**

**Oh, and I don't own Harvest Moon (but not for a lack of trying...muahahaha...)**


	4. Ruuun, It's Finny!

**WHEEEEE! I got reviews I got reviews! I luv the world!**

**Loony: *whaps me on the back of the head* Shaddap and keep working!**

**Me: Sir yes sir!**

**Loony: *hits me again, turns* We do not own HM. Please review, even if it sends Candy into Luke-mode.**

**Me: *huddled in corner, petting imaginary stack of reviews* My pretties, my pretties…**

**Loony: Or Golem-mode **

**Me: ~I believe I can flyYyYyYy!~**

**Loony: …Just read already.**

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I yawned and stretched, giving a satisfactory sigh as the kinks all popped back into place. There was something tickling my nose, like a humongous bug. Oh god, please don't be a humongous bug. Anything but a humongous bug. I opened my eyes. A little orange thing with wings stared back at me. "Hiya! I'm-"

"EEEK! BIGBUGBIGBUGBIGBUG!" I jumped up and started waving my arms around. "AIIIIEEEE!" I stopped and looked around, breathing a sigh of relief. "It's gone."

"Ex-_cuse_ _me??_ It? Bug? How _insensitive_! I'll have you know that I'm on a very important mission for the Harvest Goddess!" The little orange thing stood up in a huff. "How would you like it if I called you 'giant' or 'mammoth'? The nerve!!"

I rubbed my eyes. "Ooo, I must not be awake yet. And who are you?"

He puffed out his tiny chest. "Well,_ I'm_ Finn the Harvest Sprite, and I'm on a mission from the Harvest Godde-"

"Yeah yeah, you told me that part already- Wait, Harvest Goddess?"

"Why yes! Don't tell me you've never heard of h-" He gasped and flew at me, tugging on my shirt. "I can't believe it! You've never heard of the Harvest Goddess before?? Preposterous!"

"Gee, calm down, Flan!"

"Finn!"

"Yeah, that's what I said. Finn, I only got here two days ago, so stop trying to choke me, awright?"

He sighed and sat on my pillow. (Was he actually wearing a onesie?) "Sorry, Miss. It's just, you're the first person I've found who'll talk to me! I've tried to get other people to help, but they just stare straight ahead and _ignore _me!" He pouted adorably. "And that's why you've gotta come and help me!"

"Wait. Gotta?" I mumbled as he attempted to pull me out of my house. I walked out the door, him still tugging on my sleeve. "Maybe after I buy some seeds." And make a stop at a particular house.

Finn sighed right in my ear. Loudly. "_Fine. _After that, though, you're coming with me!" He looked at my pitiful plot. "Maybe you should hoe around a bit first."

I turned my head sharply to get a good look at him, mouth agape. "_W-w-what?!?_"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Umm, yeah. Weed a little, take the hoe and till some land to _plant seeds_?"

"Ohhh." I snickered. "I thought you said…Never mind."

"Whaaaat?" He whizzed around my head. "What did you think I said? C'mooon!"

I blinked. I shouldn't watch him do that. It was making my head spin.

"Hey!" Finn yelled, finally flying away. "Yeah you! I'm talking to you! I've got my own human now, and it ain't you!" The boy just cast his fishing line again, completely unaware of the little ticked off sprite that was currently hovering right in front of his face. "What do you have to say to that, huh? You snooze you lose. You _could've _helped me and became famous, but instead you decided to ignore me!"

The boy brushed his white-blue hair out of his eyes and smiled lazily at me. "Hello. Are you the new girl?" When Finn yanked on his hair, he winced and scratched the spot.

Obviously. "Oh, y-yes! I'm Molly!"

"Toby." He flicked the pole again, directing it to a new spot. "You like fishing, Molly?"

"Ahhh..." How do I put it? "Yes. I love most everything in fishing."

"What don't you like?"

"Um, the fish."

Toby raised his light eyebrows at me and started leaning back a bit, tugging on the pole. Finn stopped kicking the boy's head for one moment to stare at me. "_Huh?_"

"Teheheh, I know it sounds ridiculous and everything, but that's the honest tru-"

He abruptly jerked back, and I felt something slimy smack the back of my head. I jumped away and looked behind me, too scared to even scream.

There was a fish flopping next to my feet.

That's about when I finally gained the use of my voice box again.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEK!!!!!"

- - -

Finn was still wheezing when I got to Marimba Farm, rocking on my head. "_You…should have seen…_your face_! Bwahahaha!_" He was practically crying with mirth, banging his hands on the top of my head. Ow ow ow. For a cute little thing, he sure could be violent...

"Hey," I picked him off of me and held him in my cupped hands. "Why'd you have to go all mean on that Toby?"

He made a small frown. "He didn't acknowledge me! All I needed was a little bit of his interest, and he didn't even look at me! I've been scouring this whole island for months, and nothing! Sor-ry if I've gotten a little fed up with it all!"

"Gee, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he couldn't see you…"

"What?? Nonsense! Watch!" He flew off and started bugging the first person he saw, which happened to be a very tired looking Chase with a serious bed-head (that is, messier hair than usual). "Hey! You! Lookit me! Hello??" Finn swirled around him, poking him, prodding him, pulling his hair, and so on.

Chase straightened up and started swatting around with the newspaper he just picked up. "Damn bugs…" That's when he noticed me. "What do you want?"

I just shrugged and watched the sprite grab his ear and yell "_Don't cold-shoulder_ _me, you!_"

He swatted at his ear and gave me a glare like lightning bolts. "What're you grinning at? Get going!"

"F-feeling a little uncomfortable?" I snickered when his eyes twitched ever so subtly.

"What's it to you? What are you up to? Git!"

I shrugged and walked away and into Marimba Farm's shop to get my seeds.

We were on my property when Finn finally spoke up. "Okay, so maybe he couldn't see me."

I patted his back as we went on the pathway to the Ganage Mine district, where the Goddess's spring apparently was. "That's okay, Finny. That was extremely entertaining. Did he have a fit when I turned my back?"

Finn grinned impishly. "Like a rabid cat when you step on their tail mixed with someone loony who just ditched their straightjacket!"

- - -

"Sooo, I need to find the five bells?" Finn nodded, his beanie bouncing up and down. "Then that should be easy! I mean, they're big colorful bells. How hard could it be to find them?"

_After _way_ too many long hours…_

"Arrrrghh, GODDESS!" I yanked on my cowlick in frustration. "Nothing! I looked _everywhere_! Nothing!"

"It's okay, Moll'!" Finn squeaked, flying too far above my head to grab. "This day wasn't completely fruitless! Cain gave you a black calf when he caught you rooting in his barn."

"Yeah, but imagine the image I must've cut, torso deep in a haystack with a straw hat…"

He looked confused. "But…you weren't _wearing _a hat-"

"_That's _the _point_!"

Finn shrugged and exhaustedly fluttered down onto my shoulder. "So tired…"

I picked him up and cradled him. As annoying as he could be, I still loved him; Kinda like a little brother.

I started at the sound of a familiar voice. "_I sense that you are…tired. If you wish…come back to my house…_"

"W-well then." I smiled and started walking towards a particular building. "That settles it."

Finn looked up. "What settles what? Where are you taking me?" He flew up to settle next to my ear. "Ohhhh no, I've heard of this place. Molly, I don't think-"

The purple door opened before I could even touch the knob. "_Please…come in…_"

I obliged, though with a healthy dose of trepidation. Maybe a draft or something opened the door? Yeah…that's what happened.

The house looked a whole lot different in the evening light. I could actually see what the place looked like. But the only thing I really noticed was the little table right in front of me. Sitting on it was some crystal globe thingy and a couple cups of coffee. Coffee! Delicious, energizing brown goodness!

I looked around me, my eyes pausing on the landing above. "…Ah…?"

For once, Finn kept his mouth shut. He gave me quite the look, though.

"_Welcome…_"

Finn dropped a few feet before getting the use of his wings back. I grinned and did a 360, trying in vain to finally see him. But as far as I could see, it was just me and the peppers on the wall. And the coffee.

I opened my mouth several times before something came out. "Hi?"

"_Hello._" I stood there awkwardly, arms swinging comatosely at my sides. "_Feel…free…to have some coffee…You too, Finn._"

We both hesitated, but the aroma was overpowering. We just couldn't hold back after such a long, arduous day. The little sprite was first – he somersaulted at his cup, grabbing the rim and fished around like he was bobbing for apples. I took my cup with a little more elegance.

…Okay, I snatched it so fast I scalded my hands a bit. But that's better than submerging my face in it.

I could hear quiet chuckling in my head.

_Sploop. _

"_Finn._"

"Finn!" I grabbed the nape of his outfit and pulled him out of the cup. "You okay?? I don't think I can give you mouth to mouth resuscitation, I might swallow you whole." I joked, but when he still didn't breathe, I bit my lip, gave a quick prayer to the Harvest Goddess, and proceeded to give him the Heimlich maneuver with my thumb.

Thankfully, he coughed up a bit and laid splayed on his stomach, tiny chest fluttering like a hummingbird. Suddenly, he bounced up and whirred around the room, wall to wall, corner to corner. "I'm fffffF-IIIIIIIIIINNNE!"

"Oh crap."

"_…That…was not something I thought of…_"

"Finn! Snap out of it, man!"

"_Really…_really..._didn't think of that…_"

Finn dive bombed down and flitted around me like a hummingbird on non-drowsy Sudafed or… well, coffee. "I'm-here-I'm-there-I'm-EV-ER-Y-WHEEEEEERE!!!" He hovered in front of me, zipping to one side, then the other. He was like a shrink-ified Luke…if he had wings and you slapped him in an orange onsie. "Hmmmmm. I like your hair, Molly…"

"Huh?"

"Yeah." He rubbed his chin and pursed his lips. "It's nice and fluffy, but the color…"

Uh oh. This can't be good.

"The color should beeeeee…PURPLE!"

"Wha-?" The brown fringe in my peripheral vision…It…It turned…That little…_imp_! "_FINN!_ My hair is _purple_!!"

"I KNOW!!" He somersaulted in the air, clapping happily. "Isn't it AWESOME?!?!"

I cowered under my arms, as if that would rid myself of my now vivid orchid foliage. "Change it back, you little monster!"

"~A~a~A~a~A~aaaand you should have bunny ears!"

"Nononononono!" No use. I felt a brief ghost of a headache, and I ran to stare in the crystal ball at my reflection. Well well well, whaddaya know. A grape with fuzzy white bunny ears stared back at me (I'm going to pray that the elongation of my face was due to the shape of the ball). I couldn't even say anything discernable, just kinda croaky-squeaked.

"_I take it that…you don't like that look?_"

Oh great, Mr. Mystery has a sense of humor. I simply laid on my back and watched Finn do crazy eights on the ceiling. After a bit, I started to get up.

"_I wouldn't do that…_"

"_Why _not?"

As if to answer, Finn twirled and tumbled at me, wrapping me up (or at least my wrist) in a big hug. "HiyahiyahiyahiyaHIYA!!"

"_Just be very…still…_"

I slowly laid back down, and Finn soon lost interest in me, opting instead to start ogling out the window ("Lookit the birdie lookit the birdie!!!"). I made a mental note to never give him coffee again – It made him as crazy as a mob of Taylor Lautner fans, as high as a kindergartener on pixie sticks, and as dangerous as a lion just about to get fixed.

I stayed in place for what felt like hours. My watch said it was only ten minutes. "Mr. Wizard?"

"_…Yes?_"

"I'm sorry about Finn. I suppose I should've realized that this would happen."

"_No trouble. I'm…to blame…_"

It was starting to get quiet. I lifted up my head and looked for Finn, surprisingly finding him snoring on the window sill.

Now that the coast was clear, I got up and started really looking around, picking up Finn and depositing him in my bag on my way. I tentatively patted my head. "Oh Goddess…How in the world will I get rid of _this_?"

"_You needn't worry…his magic isn't strong enough to be...permanent._"

Well, that's a load off my mind. Ahh, but here's a new load to take its place. "Mr. Wizard?"

"_Yes, Molly?_"

"It's really getting dark out." I could hardly see anything except dark forms, like the night I first came here.

"_Yes…the stars are going to be…beautiful…tonight…_"

"…Mr. Wizard?"

"_…_"

I sighed and said, "Will I ever be able to meet you?" more to myself than him.

Suddenly, there was a form standing next to me. All I could really make out was that he was taller than me by quite a few inches and that his hair was a light enough shade to shine in the dark. I could here the smile in his voice, husky and soft, no longer resonating in my head. "You already…have…" I blinked mutely. "…Come..."

"Come w-where?" I stammered as I felt him take my hand and lead me outside.

"As I said…the stars are magnificent tonight…"

"O-oh." He led me down the path to the bridge at the foot of the town, giving each street light hanging outside the buildings a wide berth. "I f-feel like I'm in the Phantom of the Opera or something. You're always sh-shrouded in shadow."

"…Phantom of the Opera…?"

I frowned. Gee, he's never heard of it? Oh well, no one's perfect. "N-…never mind."

He stopped when we got halfway across the bridge. "This…is far enough."

Huh? "From what?"

He let go of my hand and ran it nervously through his hair. "N-…never mind..."

"Copycat," I giggled, trying to fill the quiet. Not that I like it loud, but I needed something to hear when I was feeling like this. "I just said that two seconds ago."

It was just light enough to make out his expression but no real features, like the color of his eyes or what that light thing was under one of his eyes. He looked a little confused, as if he didn't quite get me, but one corner of his mouth quirked up. As if he could tell that I was trying to get a good look at him, he shook his head slightly, covering his eyes with his bangs. Taking the hint, I turned my face to the sky. Mr. Wizard was right – The stars twinkled and sparkled, glitter on the dark blue night sky.

I looked over to see him staring at me. Blushing, I whipped my face back to the sky. "_…I'm sorry…_"

"How do you do that? Speak to my mind?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but then I heard voices behind me. Turning, I saw Selena and Luke walking towards us. Aw, shoot. I didn't want to have to deal with her again. Two encounters was enough for me, thanks. And as sweet as Luke seemed to be, he just reminded me of Owen, and the thought of _him _left a bad taste in my mouth. A killer combo.

It was Luke who saw me first. "Hey! Molly, right!?"

Selena pursed her lips unhappily, but remained civil. So far.

I nodded, manufacturing a pleasant smile. "Yep. That's me."

"What're ya up to??" He grinned like a smitten teenager – dorkily.

"Oh…well, we're just out for a walk."

"We?" Selena finally spoke, looking around me, "Have you lost your pineapples?"

"Pineapples…?" I echoed. "No, see? He's right behi-" I looked back, "…me…"

We were all quiet for a moment while I stood there looking like an idiot. "Well," Selena smirked, "Well go off and leave you on your imaginary date. Love the bunny ears by the way. You rival Julius in ridiculousness. C'mon Luke!" she barked.

He pouted and gave me a tight hug. "See ya, Moll'!"

I nodded and watched them leave. Nice to see you too, Luke. Bite me, Selly.

Where in the world did Wizard go? More importantly, wh-

"You're wondering…why I left."

I jumped, clutching my chest. "Dear Goddess! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

He bowed his head momentarily. "…Duly sorry…"

"But yes, why did you leave? I mean, they probably think I'm schizo now or something, or at least that belly dancer does. And that's enough to make me even more fodder for gossip."

"Well…I certainly know about being…as you put it…'gossip fodder'…"

"…Okay…?"

He looked deep into my eyes, then quickly looked away. "Let's just say…that the people around here…don't…_enjoy _my company…"

"W-what does that mean?"

Oh, so close to learning the truth. Sadly, I felt something wiggle in my rucksack. Finn poked his sleepy head out. "Wha-…Whaz happinin'?" He looked up at me, eyelids not quite at the same level. "Whaz with tha hair?"

"!!!" I completely forgot about that! I grabbed the ears and pulled them down, yanking on them. I looked ridiculous.

I felt Wizard take my hands and pull them from my head. "I'm glad…to have finally met you…in person…"

"Me…too." I gave an unsure smile and turned to leave, Finn cradled in my arms.

"_Good night, Miss Molly…_"

I looked back, but there was nothing there.

**

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**Hiya! Loony here. Candy's off somewhere, probably sleeping. (She just turned 15 about four days ago, so she's pretty old and needs her sleep.) She's pretty tired after her ecstasy over the reviews (Then again, I am too. She never shuts up!!). Oh, and we'd love it if you had any ideas for fluff, and we will take longer turning out chapters from now on, because we - like everyone - have had a lot shovelled onto our plates lately.  
****Ooo, one more thing! Can anyone tell us what the difference between "hits" and "visitors" are? We're super confused on the whole traffic thing. Anyway, pleas-**

**Me: *from another room somewhere* We don't own Harvest Moon! And don't forget to review, pleeeeaaase! **

**Loony: …Go back to sleep.**

**Me: I love life and platypuses! ~...yaaaawn...~**

**Loony: And she names _me_ Loony. Okay, nothing to see here. Move along, moooove along. **


	5. In the Night

**Hey-yah, I finally updated! I love snow days! Wheeee! They're calling it a "snowado" (tornado/snow)! What about snowicanes, snowcanoes, snowamis??**

**This was a hard chapter, 'cuz I'm trying to make time pass. I've been holding it in custody for a week, trying to make it perfect...Let's just hope I edited it well. Time passing is _harrrd_. **

**Okay, enough whining! I'd like to thank every single last person for reading and reviewing. It's _so _great to know that people care! **X3 **You people are the reason that I keep trying so hard to get better at writing, that I try to do a good job, so _thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you_!!**

**Loony: …I think you've thanked them enough now.**

**Me: One more time, please? …Thank you!**

**Loony: Oh, before you go on to the story, we do not own Harvest Moon...**

**Me: ……Ahem?**

**Loony: *sighs, smiles, and rolls eyes simultaneously (she's very talented like that)* …And thanks. **

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I woke up more groggy than usual, and that's saying something. Finn was no better – I guess he was super tired after the whole "giving me purple hair and rabbit ears" debacle. Must've drained him of his magical powers for the next few days (_thank god!!!_).

(Oh, and btw, my unexpected makeover took two days to wear out. And for those two days, I told everyone who asked…ie: everyone… that I was doing it for a bet with a friend from the mainland. I still got a lot of crap for it, though, but at least Finn did the dishes for a week to make up for it. ^^)

Finn claimed to be too tired to fly, so I ended up with a whiney little sprite sprawled on my shoulder as I ate my waffles and OJ, brushed my teeth, and let my cow out to graze. He would've stayed there as I took a shower too, had I not impressed upon him that there was a prominent boundary there for humans, with huge red neon letters saying "**Do not cross**."

After I dried off and got dressed, I started tilling some land for the potatoes. It was a whole lot harder than I thought it'd be. It started hurting to simply hoist the hoe over my shoulder before slamming it down into the soil (actually, it wasn't fertile enough to be called soil. 'Dirt' is a better term). And the random weeds that popped up out of nowhere! They were everywhere, and they clung to the dirt like a lifeline…Well, it actually was a lifeline…Hm…

Anyway, I eventually tilled enough, tossed out the seeds, and lugged the watering can around. I spilled enough water to quench the seeds' thirst, the innumerable weeds around it, and successfully drench myself into a 'just came off an awesome water park ride' state.

The next few weeks started the same way. Get up, eat, shower, get dressed, let out Tiny (my lil' black cow, who wasn't so lil' anymore) to graze, water plants and clothes. A fine morning routine that never became boring thanks to the unwillingness of the flora and fauna of my farm!

After drying off most of the water, I'd go to the Town Hall to chat with Gill. If he didn't have too much to do (which wasn't often…maybe 2 or 3 times a week?), I could get him to educate me on the ways, history, and inhabitants of the town. The classroom was always moving – the lighthouse, the bridge, his flowerbeds in front of his house – all were viable and perfect places for a teaching area. He helped me as much as he could with the whole "find the bells and save the island" deal, too. Anything for his domain.

We were, however, drawing up short on that matter. I saw no hint nor...hide? metal? of the bells.

Whenever Gill wasn't available, I went and befriended the Tailor sisters. Candace was a really sweet girl, and even Luna grew on me (though sometimes I'd look down to see her attempting to patch up a particularly big tear in my skirt, mumbling something about a free sample for a clueless customer).

But the best part of my day by far was when night fell.

Because that was when Wizard came out.

Under the cool comfort of shadows, he could roam freely. He still hadn't told me why he couldn't do the same in daylight, but what can you do?

With the cover of night, we went everywhere. I suppose my favorite place would be Moon Hill, where it seemed like you could see the entire universe.

Of course, according to Wizard, we weren't seeing 1% of it. There was so much more…much, much more…

It was just too far away to see.

Even though I'd spent basically every night with him for weeks, I felt like I still didn't know him. He was still a stranger to me. I once accidentally said so one cold summer night – I was so tired from farming and dealing with the less-welcoming people that day, I wasn't thinking straight. This statement gave him pause…a whole hour of it. Finally, he said quietly: "You know…more about me…than all of the creatures of the world…"

I started at that. That's what happens when no one talks for an hour, then someone says something like that in such a way as to make your heart flutter. "I-I'm g-glad-"

Without a word, he pressed one finger to my lips. I blinked at him, staying stock-still, unsure. I felt completely out of my element, in cliché territory.

He hesitated, the most conflicted person I had ever seen, lips slightly parted as if was trying to come up with the right words to say.

Then he pressed his lips to mine.

I'll admit that I was more than a little shocked – My heart stopped any and all beating for a few seconds before running rampant. Wizard was usually so quiet and reserved, it took me completely off guard.

And yet my eyes fluttered close anyway. I'd never been a fan of cliché's, but it suddenly didn't bother me as much anymore.

He smelled so foreign. I really couldn't put a finger on it. Sweet spices, dusky scents, cool warmth (if there's such a thing). If the moon and the stars and the twilight sky had a scent...?

This would be it.

It didn't last very long, like all wonderful things. Soon, he pulled away, but didn't retreat back completely. I could feel it.

I finally opened my eyes to see him cover his face with his bangs with a flick of his head. I sighed sadly to myself - not to loudly, mind you - but he heard anyway and froze, regarding me with worried eyes. I smiled reassuringly, but he didn't seem to buy it, sitting close in front of me. "…Miss Molly…?"

Caught. I played with the grass next to my crossed feet. "Why…why can't I see your face?" Wizard turned and looked behind himself, scrutinizing the shadows, including his own faint one. My eyebrows knitted. "That too! You're always so jumpy." I paused. "Did something…happen?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. "…"

I lowered my eyes to the ground. The springy summer grass shown dully in the moonlight. "Never m-mind. I shouldn't pry."

"_No_…" I looked up at him. He never told me how he could speak to my mind, either. "I guess…I'm so used to hiding that I'm…unsure. But…" He leaned forward a bit and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I…I… I t-trust you."

I sat, stunned. "…Er…Really?"

He nodded slowly, giving a small, slightly faltering smile – one that was obviously unpracticed for a long time. For some reason, he reminded me of an old stray mutt I once adopted from the streets. I loved that old dog, and he was so grateful when I took him in, if exceedingly nervous at first. He soon grew to be an extremely happy creature – always eager to please, always trying to show me how much I meant to him, always with that same grin – Sheepish, happy, hopeful. That dog – whose white streaked muzzle never missed the opportunity to give me lots of sloppy kisses – taught me that that one old saying was as truthful as a kid who just broke their mom's favorite vase. _I guess you _can _teach an old dog new tricks..._

Now the man who was fast becoming something more than meaningful to me was giving me the same look, though it was a little more calm (and he wasn't panting like a demon). "Yes." His face grew more serious, his smile more stable. "You said…the first night we walked, that you felt like you were in the...Phantom of the Opera...yes?"

I rose my eyebrows. "So you d-d-_do _know what that-t is?" Noticing my chattering teeth, he handed me his cloak. "Th-thanks-s-s." I wrapped the soft fabric around me, happy to be enveloped in such a nice smelling blanket, though it didn't compare to the actual source of that scent. "And y-yeah. …I'm like Christine, and you're…the Phantom, I guess?" Obviously, but hopefully less touched in the head. I didn't want him suddenly going on a murder rampage.

He looked like he was fighting a huge internal battle, brow creased. Finally, he took a deep breath stared deep into my eyes through his hair. "Then…unmask me."

He took another deep breath and leaned forward, inviting me. I held my own breath as I reached forward and slowly, painstakingly brushed each silvery smooth lock back. He shivered at the first touch – I could tell his skin was burning-hot, so my shivering-cold fingers must've been a shock? His eyes were closed, and to this day I'm not sure if the expression was tense or peaceful, though I'd like to think it was the latter…

My attention immediately went to the white thing under his right eye, the one to my left. "…May I…?" I mumbled tentatively, hand hovering. He didn't respond, nor bat my hand away. He just watched my face, eyelids fluttering sleepily when I stroked the white marking. "What…is that?"

He suddenly grew bashful, pulling away. "It's just a…mark of my…studies." His dusky skin darkened even more in a blush as he scrutinized the dark buildings at the base of the hill, glancing back at me every now and again.

Finally realizing what I'd just done, I pulled away too. "You mean wizardry?" I inquired quietly, face flushed embarrassingly. Thank Goddess for the night – I always got so red at the slightest things. Imagine my color in _this _situation.

He nodded. "But…I'd recommend not saying that word around the townspeople. They are…not fond…of that word…"

Again with the townsfolk? What, did he curse someone or something? Put the stick in Selena's butt? Take away Toby's drive to do anything besides fish and sleep? Take away Owen's heart? "What word? Wizardry?"

Wizard nodded again. "Wizardry…magic…Even 'abracadabra' and 'voodoo' and nonsense syllables like…'oogalaboogala,'" The ridiculous word rolled off his tongue, a weird thing coming from such a serious person, "are frowned upon…even though they have nothing to do with my work…" He sighed and looked off to the dark horizon that I myself could hardly make out in the night. "But…most of all…please don't mention 'Wizard.'"

"Gee," I shook my head in pity and empathy, "What in the _w-world _did you do?"

He looked back at me, eyes flashing dully in the moonlight. About then, I noticed that while one was a deep emerald green, the other seemed yellow, almost a pure gold. They looked so beautiful, even when they were so agonizingly sad, world-weary…like now.

"Nothing."

And that was all I got out of him that night. He never yielded anything else as he walked me back to my house like he did every night.

It was around 1:00 A.M. when my head hit my pillow, but I hardly got any sleep afterwards. I spent most of the night tossing and turning, replaying and reviewing everything that had happened that night.

I instinctively hugged Finn close like a little teddy bear when I felt a warm glow radiate through me, remembering the kiss. So…different, so unexpected.

So perfect.

I smiled uncontrollably, my heart on fire. I had never felt this way in all my nineteen years. It was the most wonderful thing in the world, and I highly recommend it.

But as great as everything seemed, a huge shadow still hung over me, getting darker and larger everyday.

What was the deal with Wizard and the townspeople?

- - -

The next day, I was a _little _groggy after the 2 ¾ hours of sleep I had managed to squeeze out between the getting home late, being too antsy to immediately fall asleep, then having Finn wake up squeaking ten minutes after I _did _doze off because of some nightmare involving a fly swatter and a can of Raid.

Not to mention that the weeds had somehow exploded in population last night – My plot was a dandelion-polis.

Finn rolled over and patted my ear when I stumbled over a rock after watering the last plant that day. "Tired?"

"Yeah! A little." I panted.

He pointed to a place behind my barn. "We should go to that spring over there. I'm pretty sure it's warm." He sat up and slapped my shoulder blades like a horse jockey. "Heeyah heeyah! Lessgo lessgo!"

I walked over slowly for two reasons: One, it ticked off Finn (who started to turn the color of my ripening tomatoes) and two, I was simply too tired and worn-out. I took off my boots and poked one toe in. "Eee-YOW!"

"What's wrong??" Finn leaned down. "Is it really hot?"

"No." I backed away, frowning. "It's freezing!" But hey, at least I wasn't tired anymore.

He blinked. "…Really? And I'd heard that it was a hot spri-"

"Hell-OOOOO! How're you doing, darling?" Julius suddenly appeared out of nowhere, clapping his hands happily.

I started cramming my socks and boots back on. I've always been weird about my feet, because they are, for some reason, freakishly small. My old friends had assured me that it was actually adorable, that they'd kill to have feet like mine...

Which, come to think of it, is kinda weird. Would _you_ want someone telling you that they want your feet?

But I digress.

"H-h-hey!" I stammered. "What're you d-"

"What am I doing here? Hmmm, yes, good question." He scanned around disdainfully at my work-in-progress farm. His gaze became particularly horrified when he caught sight of my clothes, slightly fraying and dirty and wet. "Goodness gracious me! Looks like I didn't come a moment too soon!" He started towards me, ominous...in a fruity and happy way. "I've come to fulfill my promise!"

"…….Promise…?"

"Yes, of course! Remember, the day we first met?"

"….!" Oh, fish nuggets!

"You have potential, Molly-Pie! I can see it! Come come come!" And with that, he grabbed my hand and dragged me all the way to Harmonica Town.

- - -

"Hmmmm…" Julius, Luna, and Candace sat before me, the first two seriously scrutinizing my every feature and the third simply sitting there apologizing with her eyes.

After a long lull, Luna finally spoke up. "Auburn!"

"No!" Julius gasped. "Her color is quite obviously purple! Remember, she even tried to copy my fabulous hair a long time ago!" He leaned forward and gave me a pity-smile, "Of course, you really couldn't pull it off, darling, but the earnestness was sweet enough."

I opened my mouth to remind him that it was for *cough* a _bet_ with my friend, but Luna jumped in before I could."Yeah, and the bunny ears, too?" She rolled her eyes. "Is that the choice of someone with good fashion sense?"

He pouted, narrowing his red eyes. "I'm telling you, it should be a light lilac dress, short and flowy!"

"Maybe brown? Yeah, brown is her color!"

"What??" Julius practically had a heart attack. "_Brown?!?_ Have you lost your senses, you daft girl?? If you didn't have such adorable hair, I'd kick you out!"

"Ex-_cuse _me? This is _my _store!"

"Technically speaking, dearies," Ms. Shelly spoke up from behind her magazine, "This is my tailor shop."

Luna bowed her head in respect at her grandma, then rounded back on Julius. "And who're you calling daft? Brown's perfect, and it fits her personality! Quiet, wallflower, but warm and sweet, like chocolate! Not _purple_! You're just trying to mark her as your personal Barbie doll!"

"Dark-k g-g-grey?" Candace mumbled so that only I could hear. Yeah…grey. That actually sounds good. Not too showy, beautiful, thoughtful. Leave it to Candace to realize what'd fit me.

Luna grabbed a brown dress with pink cherry blossoms embroidered in the front bottom corner with pink petals floating up across the fabric and shoved it at me. "This one. The Firefly Festival's coming up, this is the one!"

"Wrong, darling. You _need _this one, without a doubt!" He waved the aforementioned flowy purple one in front of my face.

I recoiled and placed a rack of hats between my assailants and me, wincing. "Can someone _please_ remind me why I'm enduring this? For one thing, I don't have the money, and for another, I don't _need _it!"

"What?" Both Julius and Luna looked dumbstruck, like it was crazy for a chick to not want a new dress. "Impossible!"

"Sh-she-ee's right." Candace mumbled.

They started to protest, but I held up my hands and leaned back. Finn giggled next to me. "They sure do look silly!"

"What, like you do everyday?" I shot at him, already bristled. Normally, I wasn't so flippant, but this whole dress fiasco was pushing me to the edge. He gave a playful pout, then an unabashed grin, nodding.

They looked even more confused. "What?" Luna rose a thin eyebrow.

Oh yeah, they can't see my personal, adorable orange pain in the booty. I grinned sheepishly and changed the subject. "Firefly Festival huh? Whazzat?"

"Oh, it's a celebration of our ancestors. We light floating lanterns and let them drift lazily down the river into the ocean." Luna sighed and clasped her hands under her chin, eyes sparkling at thin air. "It's so~o~o~o romantic! I've already got a date!"

Juius gasped, looking a lot like my cow when you dangle a shining carrot right in front of her snout. "~Ooooo~ _really? _Spill it, I need deets!"

"I'm going with Gill!"

I scanned all the conversations I'd had with Gill lately. Unless if I tripped after a particular one and got severe amnesia, causing me to forget just _that one detail_, Luna was just delusional. "I don't rememb-"

"Oh!" Luna placed her hands on her hips. "He _is_, he just doesn't know it yet."

I just stared.

Julius glided over to Candace. "Speaking of the Festival, are you going with me or not?"

Candace stared at him with wide blue eyes. "Ah…I-I…uhhm-"

"It's the least you can do after refusing me for the Flower Fest! My poor lil' heart was soooo broken…"

"Wait…Flower Fest?" I intervened, drawing his attention from the poor girl, who was trying to make herself look as small as possible. "When was that?"

The diversion worked. He gasped dramatically and rounded on me, grasping my shoulders violently. "_You don't know what the Flower Fest is? _Kill yourself! The Flower Festival is only the culmination of all fabulousness on the island! I can't believe you missed it this year! Imagine sitting on an adorable little picnic blanket among hundreds of fragrant floral arrangements, being surrounded by roses, lilies, daisies, violets, orchids…" he danced about, throwing his arms around like he was in the Festival already, as if he was surrounded by flowers and not patterned linens, "…Green bells, snowflakes, tulips, babies breath, did I mention roses?, little forget-me-nots, queen ann's la-"

"Oh my Goddess, just shut _up_ already!" Luna clapped her hands centimeters from his face. "Get a _grip_!" … "Oi!"

Oops, I guess she looked my way as I disappeared out the door. I poked my head back through and gave them one last little wave before running down the street. Wooooo-hoo! Freeeeedoooom!

- - -

I bounded across the little bridge in the mine district, Finn circling my head at dizzyingly fast speeds. "I thought we'd never get out of there, Molly!"

I shrugged sadly, not saying anything.

Finn buzzed in front of my face, placing his tiny hands on my nose. "What's the matter?? You're all sad looking!"

I swatted at him. "I told you not to hover right there! It gives me the creeps, and I go all cross-eyed trying to see you." I set my face in a smile, despite the little mini-me nagging at my mind. It was the little bit of me that _did_ want to look pretty, to spin and have a cute dress flutter in the motion.

However, that little fantasy was soon promenaded _out _of my head as I caught sight of Chloe's newest shenanigan. She and Bo (Dale and Luke's mild-mannered apprentice who always managed to get dragged into helping her with her ulcer-inducing capers) were having a competition to see who could kick a _certain red bell _farthest.

I gasped and bolted forward with my arm outstretched uselessly as Chloe started winding up her kick. "Waaaaaaaaiiit!"

- - -

"_What_ in the _world _happened to _you_??" Gill gasped as I walked into the town.

I started to talk, but was soon interrupted by my soot-filled throat. You could've heard my hacking in Flute Fields. "I-_cough_-cr-_hoof, cough, hack_-crawled up Mr. Ramsey's-_cough-achoo-cough-cough-achoo-chimney_! …ACHOO!"

He wrinkled his nose. "You look ridiculous," he stated simply.

I snorted (which then caused me to have another coughing/sneezing fit). "Gee, _thanks_. You don't -_cough!-_ mince words, do you?"

"Nope. That's why you love me, right?" He smirked jokingly and motioned for me to follow him. "C'mon. You need to get cleaned up and change your clothes."

I paused, biting my lip, which tasted like charcoal (no duh). "Um…" I scratched my head worriedly as I walked next to him.

"What?" He gave me funny look. "Do you _like _looking like one of Maya's culinary creations?"

"_Sniff_. You mean gosh-darn delicious? _Achoo_!"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "There's a fine line between sticking up for someone and fighting for a lost cause. You _know _how bad her food can be, according to the latest gossip."

…Right. Chase once set Maya on me with one of her 'Monte Blanc cakes' when I went to the Brass Bar for dinner one night. He got a real kick out of the fact that I ended up spending an hour later talking animatedly with her afterwards, my face as green as…well, what she fed me. As soon as she left, I loudly spat it all up into the bar's kitchen sink…right next to him.

He still feigns barfing whenever he sees me.

"If you want to _keep_ your clean and -_cough, sniff-ACHOO!-_ immaculate clothes clean and immaculate, don't bring that up."

He gave a low whistle. "Scary. But seriously, don't touch me. This is a good cashmere sweater vest, and-"

"And you sound like Julius right there." I giggled/huffed at his frown. "_cough!..._Sorry."

"Just…get clean."

"Can't."

"_Why _not??"

"'Cuz this is my only pair of clothes."

He looked mortified. "Are you _serious_?!"

"_coughcough- _Well…" I tapped my chin, "I _do_ have a set of pj's…"

I looked over to see Gill trip and face-plant right then and there.

"…And you call _me _clumsy." I muttered, pulling him back up.

**

* * *

**

**Me: ^^ Teh heh heh, I luv Julius n Luna! ... Yay, I finally figured out how to find my story stats! *has tears of joy running down my cheeks* I has people who favorite-ed! I'm loved!**

**Loony: *looking through my latest post on the other laptop* What's that stray dog crap? **

**Me: *scrutinizing the laptop's screen like my life depended on it* Oh, well, it's a terrible metaphor. See, Wizzy's the dog. Know how I always say he looks like a lost, stray puppy? He's been around for some time, kicked, unloved, unwanted. A 'stray'. …………… What's 'story alert' mean?**

**Loony: Why did you have Wizard kiss her?? It's too fast!**

**Me: I asked first. What's story alert?**

**Loony: I dunno.**

**Me: Then I don't know either!**

**Loony: …Now you're just being confusing.**

**Me: No, _you're _the confusing one!**

**Loony: …**

**Me: I mean, if alert's are good, then awesome! But what if it's a bad thing? *starts freaking out, clutching Bingo (my black stuffed dog that I will never part with…_ever_) tightly* What if it's like reporting me to the police?? What'dy-I _do_??? Don't set the fuzz on me, pleeeease!**

**Loony: *whips her head around and glares. Right. Through. Your. Computer screen! (Naw, I'm just kiddin'. Dat's creepy. :P )* Somebody tell us what "story alert" means before I kill her!**

**Me: *now full-out crying* We-e-e do-o-o-n't own Harvest M-m-m-moon! Th-th-thank you for reviewing! Stay tu-u-uned for the next chapter, I'm g-g-gonna dish dirt on all the animos-s-sity against Wizzy!**

**Loony: Great, now she's all emotional. You know, I have to _live _with that! **

**Me: I lo-o-oooove you guys!**


	6. Please Be Happy

**Me: *thru my closed bedroom door* I'm not coming out until I know I'm not getting arrested!**

**Loony: What about dinner? And school? You've pulled the sick routine too many times, Mom and Dad aren't gonna fall for that again unless you have actual proof.**

**Me: …Proof?**

**Loony: You know, "tossing cookies", "barfing", "throwing up"…**

**Me: EEEWWW! Stop it!**

**Loony: …And my personal favorite, "tangoing with the toilet"!**

**Me: Ug! Mo-OOO-oooom! *(yes, I'm that kind of kid at times)* She's trying to make me sick again!**

**Loony: …Mom can't hear you, remember? It's only us in this imaginary world. It's just youuuuuu…And _meeeeeee_. Muahahahahaha….**

**Me: …!!!...AHHHHHHHHHH!**

* * *

"There!" I said as I finally held up the two new outfits. "Are you _happy_, everyone?"

I studied everyone in the room with a critical eye. Julius and Luna were both crouched in the corner – probably plotting how they'd force me into a dress, a plan that just might include abduction and being bound and gagged. Candace was smiling, hands clasped behind her back, and Ms. Shelly was racking up the costs on her ancient cash register.

Gill just shrugged. "I don't do happy."

I rolled my eyes accepted my shopping bag. "Sorry, Mr. Future Mayor."

He sighed regally and inspected one of his hands, a dramatized bored expression donned onto his face. "Apology accepted, peasant."

I stuck my tongue out at him and waved goodbye to Candace as we walked out the door. Julius and Luna both unblinkingly watched me pass, like a pair of cats watching a cute little sparrow that was just out of reach, but slowly and stupidly descending into their clawed reach.

"My, my, an' sweet potato pie!" piped a southern twang. "Yer jist de cutest lil' couple!"

"Oh! Kathy!" I exclaimed happily. I really liked her, she was like a big sister to me. But I blanched when I realized what she'd just said. "Oh! W-we aren-"

"Are yuh goin' to de Firefly Festival tuhgetha'? Oooh, maybe Ah'll see yuh there!"

I looked to Gill for help, but he was just as shell-shocked as me, pale skin gradually getting pinker and pinker. For once, he was at a loss for words.

Looks like it's all up to me. "A-a-ah…w-w-wai-…n-n-n-" Guh. Yeah, you go girl! Show them what yer made of, Tuff Stuff!

"Mayb' we could double date!" Kathy crowed. "Well?"

Double date? Who is-?

"Kathy!" drawled an all-too familiar baritone. He came up from behind us, brushing by me…literally. I saw Kathy frown, staring at my left ear in annoyance. A big change from the bubbliness of before. "Hey, beautiful! I was lookin' for you!" He swept her up into a huge hug. "Check out what I made for you for the Firefly Festival!"

Kathy gasped happily as he fastened an emerald necklace around her neck. "Oooh, you big ol' lug! This'is _gorgeous_!"

"'Cuz it matches your eyes." Owen gave the biggest smile ever, beaming down at her.

Gee, if I didn't know _firsthand_ what hewas capable of, I'd say that he was awfully sweet, the boyfriend everyone wanted. I looked over at my best friend with a questioning look, a 'WTF?' glance. He just stared at them in stony silence, as serious and pensive as a Native American chief.

Suddenly, a thought seemed to occur to Kathy. Casting a meaningful sideways glance at me, she jumped up and gave Owen the biggest kiss ever, wrapping her sun-spotted arms around his thick neck.

I was immediately reminded of the horrors I had been working so hard to repress. The hurt, the fear, the metallic taste of adrenaline and blood in my mouth. I felt all the blush and blood leave my face. Even though it was a hot summer day, with the sun beating and pulsing down on us, I started to shiver and shake like we were in the Arctic Circle.

I slouched under the weight of it all and tugged frailly at Gill's crisp shirt sleeve. "C'm-m-mon," I mumbled, "I c-can't…I can't watch this."

His blue eyes regarded me, immediately becoming wide and worried when he realized what I was going through. "Yeah. Come on." He hooked my arm in his protectively and grabbed my hand comfortingly, pulling me away. Somewhere in my senses, I felt Finn hug my neck, for once not chattering.

"See ya two!" Kathy chirped after us.

Gill stopped when we reached the balcony above his house and the little vacant school. He gently let me down next to the cliff-wall, and I pulled my knees to my chin, jaw clenched in a futile attempt to stop the tears from coming. But despite my efforts, a few streams started trickling down my white cheeks.

Everything felt so heavy and cumbersome. I thought of Atlas, that one mythical being that has to hold the entire Earth on his back for all eternity. Is this what it feels like? Forget having a monkey on your back - I had the whole _world_ perched on my chest.

"Goddess, I'm so stupid." Gill sat down next to me and hit his head on the wall. Hard.

I started to speak, but my insides were shivering too much to make it intelligible. "S-s'not…f-f-f-fault-t…"

"Yes, it is!" he cut me off, fists clenching and unclenching. "I was so surprised, I didn't even think to check on you. Here I am, trying to protect you from that _evil pig_, and I screw up because I get _embarrassed_?" He shoved himself off the ground, stumbled, and started pacing around and around, playing with that huge cowlick – a habit we both shared when we were uncomfortable, confused, embarrassed, and so on.

I sniffed and started wiping at my drying tears with my bare hands before he handed me a fancy white handkerchief. "Th-thanks." Something popped into my head. "Wait. 'P-protect'?"

He turned pink. "W-well yeah, I mean…uh…"

I studied him inquiringly. What was _with _him today?

I looked away and turned the discussion to a topic that I hoped he could handle better. "K-kinda funny how Kathy thought we were a couple. Wonder how she got that?" I grinned unconvincingly.

He hunched his shoulders and thrust his hands into his plaid-shorts' pockets, not looking any less flustered. "She might have drawn that conclusion based on the fact that you're wearing _my _clothes."

"Hmmm." He was probably right. I was temporarily borrowing his white vest and pants with a black long-sleeved shirt (since my only clothes at the time were really dirty). Speaking of which, I was probably ruining the pants by sitting down here on this gritty roof with the dried-mud dog tracks. I got up, brushing off all the dirt that I could. "Sorr-"

"No problem." He stopped pacing to stand in front of me, but he continued to wind and unwind the blonde cowlick around his finger. He stared at his buckled shoes. "Actually, you just reminded me that I wanted to talk to you about something."

I looked over at him. "…What's that? D-did I do something wrong?"

"No!" He faked a smile. "Actually...Qu-quite contrary…Or m-maybe you're right…Ah!" He turned his back to me, slamming his hands down on the rail and hunching his shoulders. "I don't know why this is so difficult!"

Finn finally let go of me and started hovering between us, looking confused and protective all in one little package. "I've never felt so many conflicting emotions before!" He tapped his tiny chin thoughtfully. Yes, he can sense emotions, if they're prominent enough. Kinda like a dog. Except that this time, the most obtuse person would notice that Gill was not alright.

Oh Goddess, something's really bothering him. I reached out and patted his shoulder. I plastered a grin on my face, trying to look carefree even though I was freaking out inside. _Was_ I in trouble? Was I going to lose my farm? Did he think the Harvest Goddess was going to fade away before we could save her? "Hey, cheer up! You're the amazing Gill Hamilton, anything's possible for you!"

He chuckled darkly. "Oh, if only that were true…" Sighing, he turned to me, face tense. "Might as well get it over with." He ran his fingers through his hair one last time before blurting, "Will-you-go-to-the-Firefly-Festival-with-me??"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Huh?"

He lowered his head and scuffed at the ground. "Wull, I mean…you know…I was just wondering…you know…It's over by the watermill, we light all these lanterns…you know…?"

I smiled despite myself - he was so cute when he was tripping over his words. "Yeah…I know."

"…And?"

"Aren't you going with Luna?"

He looked like I had just suggested that he eat one of my cow's homemade pies – You know the kind. "Okay, you're a fairly intelligent girl, so I'll give you a moment to retract that statement."

"Just fairly intelligent? I'd give you a run for your money for Dictator of Castanet Island!"

He rolled his eyes. "Keep dreaming. I'm the only capable dictator here. You don't have a mean bone in your body."

I struck a bashful pose. "Aw, shucks."

Gill blinked hopefully. "So…?"

I coughed when a certain face appeared in my mind – _his_ soft smile, _his_ soft eyes, _his_ soft voice. "Listen, Gill…" I tried to look him in the eyes, but he averted them and started playing with his cowlick again. "G-Gill. Hey. Up here."

He looked up, face showing nothing, no emotion whatsoever. "Mhm?"

I bit my lip. Maybe I _didn't_ want to look him in the eye when I said this…Suck it up, Molly. This is your best friend, he'll understand.

Won't he?

- - -

"…Yeah…I understand."

I bit my lower lip, throat still burning from the words that had just left my mouth. "R-r-really?"

"Yeah." Gill sighed and rested his hands on his head. "It's nothing big." Liar. You look like a robot. A sad robot with no lubricant on his jaw hinges. Do you actually think that I don't know you? "I'm not a big fan of festivals anyway. Father just is a stickler for traditions and all that, you know?"

Before I could say anything, he looked at his watch (way too fast to actually see the hands). "Shoot! I've got to go."

"Ah…" But he sped off, faster that I'd've thought possible for him.

- - -

"I'm…so sorry, Miss Molly."

I smiled ruefully. "Yeah, m-me too." I leaned back and rested my head on the cool grass. "It's not a big deal." I said as nonchalantly as I could. It didn't work.

He rubbed at his eyes with what looked like a pained expression clouding his face. "Please…don't say that. Friends are…precious, everyone counts. You need to hold onto them…with all your might."

"Yeah, and we all know how _strong_ I am, right?" I looked up at Wizard, my heart giving a little jolt when I saw his sad yet piercing eyes were watching me. Ever since the night before, he hadn't covered his face with his bangs, letting me see his whole face. I don't think I'll ever get over those mystifying eyes, the ones that seem to capture the light of the stars in all their beauty and shine and mystery. "But really, we'll still be friends. I'll do my best on that note."

He turned his face to the night sky thoughtfully, brooding and sad.

I sighed and said before I could stop and think about it, and therefore probably not do it, "But there's a reason that I said no to him." I didn't have to look; I could feel Wizard's eyes on me. "Besides not wanting to ruin my friendship with Gill or Luna." I took a deep breath, my cheeks hot. "…W-will _you _go with me t-…to the Firefly Festival?"

I scrunched my eyes close, heart beating loudly with fear and anticipation. After a few minutes of no answer, I opened them to see him up on his feet, a few feet away. I sat up abruptly. "W-we don't have to be with everyone else! We c-c-could go upriver a-ways, no one would see us."

Wizard closed his eyes slowly and lowered his head. "That's…not it…"

I tensed.

"I'm…so…so sorry…My being with you is a…mistake."

The blood started to drain from my cheeks.

"It's not…safe. For you, for me…"

A few wet trails started trickling down my face.

"If this went…any farther…"

I tasted the salty streams.

He looked over to me – At least, I think he was. His bangs once again covered his dear face. When he saw my tears, his hand started up to my face, getting halfway there…

Before he yanked it back.

I recoiled as if slapped, scrunching my eyes, trying to stop the tears. Why did I have to be such an easy crier?

But I knew that I wouldn't stop anytime soon. So I looked up.

But he was gone.

"_This Gill…would be good for you. Better than I'd…ever…be…_"

"N-n-no." I finally got my voice back, all too late. "No…You c-can't know that-t-t!"

"…_You're so…naïve. That's what makes you so beauti-…No._"

I opened my mouth to say something, anything. But my voice failed me again, the cursed thing.

"_Please…Molly…Please be happy…_"

I could feel his mind in mine, a warm blanket that wrapped itself around me.

Comfort, love, serenity, everything I needed, everything I wanted to share with Wizard.

Did that kiss mean nothing to him? Because it meant the universe to me.

These were the last things that wafted through my mind before I fell asleep. That…and the awareness of a pair of warm arms lifting me up…holding me close.

Please don't let me go…

* * *

"A-aren't-t you…happy?"

I looked away from the full-length mirror, which I had been staring at but not registering. "Huh? Oh…yes. Thank you so much…Candace."

Finn flew next to me, his mouth in an 'o', a flying fish. "Wowee…You're beautiful, Molly!" he breathed.

She smiled, blushing happily. "I f-figured that it'd fit you."

I faked a smile and did a half-hearted twirl. I'll admit, it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen, much less put on. Candace really _was_ a master tailor – it was as if she had looked into my very heart to see what would work. It was a dark, dark charcoal grey with a slight midnight-blue/black sheen fading into different places, giving it the feel of a cloudy night sky. With the flow-y off-the-shoulder sleeves, simple black satin ribbon tied around the waist, and light, soft fabric that flowed like warm molasses with every move I made…

_Sigh…_

If I wasn't dying inside, I'd be the happiest princess in the universe.

"…Y-…You don't l-like it-t-t?"

"Ohhh." …No... No! Do _not _start crying _now_! I bit my lip and fought back all the demons. I was _not _going to lay all my problems on her. I didn't have the right to worry h…

But, much to my surprise, I felt a pair of small, shaking arms hug me uncertainly, then tighter. I saw some of her blue locks floating in the air, suspended, escaped from her braids. "I-it's okay, M-Molly."

I felt all the sadness well up in me, choking me as it flowed, swirling inside of me.

_The dam started to crack, just a little hair-thin line._

I hugged her back, jaw set as I held it all back. "I-I'm fine. It's all good."

She let go and stood before me, hands wringing, knuckles white. "Are you s-sure?"

Deep breath… "…Yes."

She handed me my other clothes and I stepped into the dressing room. "I h-hope you're sure ab-b-bout that…And Molly?"

I pulled on my yellow t-shirt. "Mhm?"

"That dress is a g-gift."

I burst out of the door. "_What_?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"B-but…" I shook my head. "No. This economy's struggling, I n-need to pay for everything." I pulled out my ratty old wallet.

"We're getting by just fine." Candace said quietly, pushing away my hand full of money. "You d-deserve a reward, a treat. It hasn't b-b-been easy for you, m-moving here, taking up that f-farm, dealing with some of these…p-people." She looked down and played with her hands. "And plus, you're my…my b-best friend."

I stopped trying to shove the gold pieces at her and started to blink perplexedly. "You…I…Really?"

She blushed and nodded, getting redder and redder with each passing second.

A little bit of happiness started bubbling up, slightly warming the freezing liquid nitrogen that sloshed inside of me.

So I did what anyone who had been given a little much-needed love would do. I launched at her, wrapping her up into a huge bear hug.

_And the crack in the dam opened up a little bit more._

"Than-…Thank you so much." I scrunched my eyes shut, hugging her as hard as I could. "You have no id-dea…"

"W-well…I c-could…I know s-s-something's up-p, and I want to h-help." Her eyes widened, staring up at me like a baby rabbit's.

I hesitated.

What did it matter? I wasn't connected to _him_ anymore. It wasn't going to affect him…He was probably hidden somewhere safe, anyway. And I had a right to know. I _needed_ to know why, why my heart was smashed and scattered like dust on the wind last night...

Call it human nature.

"Actually…"

Not too late, I can still turn the conversation to something else. Remember _his _warnings.

Oh yes, I remembered them. I remember everything. Every. Single. Last. Night.

_The dam's crack got even thicker, starting to jerkily wind up and down the obstruction._

I jerked my head involuntarily, a minute twitch. "What do you know about the Wizard?"

* * *

"What do you know about the Wizard?"

Candace's reaction was instantaneous. She squeaked and cowered in her seat, hunching her narrow shoulders, the epitome of metallic fear, absolute shock. "W-where h-h-how when-n what-t-t w-w-w-w-why _how_???"

Hmm…how 'bout, "Yeah, I…I just heard someone m-mention that one night…"

"Who??"

"Why?"

"W-when?"

"Why?"

"R-really." Candace started biting at her nails nervously, eyeing the windows like a T-rex might suddenly appear outside. "Who w-would d-d-discuss such-ch a thing?"

"Oh, I d-don't know. It was too dark, I was too tired to distinguish specific v-voices." I leaned forward hungrily. "What's the big deal anyway? You look like I just informed you that the Black Death was making a comeback."

She squirmed, clutching her hair around her like a protective blanket. "Because…Because the Wi-…Wiz-…he's evil!" she blurted. "A black arts master! Devil worshipper! Murderer, swindler, charlatan, thief, demon, demon summoner! And that's not the worst of it all!"

I blinked and stared and blinked and stared.

_And that's when the dam's crack got wide enough to let trickles of water seep out... _

Everything ran through my head. All my memories of hi-…_Wizard_.

Wizard giving me sanctuary.

Wizard telling me that everything was going to be fine.

Wizard leading me out into the cool spring night.

Wizard embracing me.

Wizard gazing thoughtfully at the stars.

Wizard gazing thoughtfully at…me.

…

No. He'd never hurt anything. He'd never…lie…to…me…

I sucked in my breath, but no oxygen came with it. It hurt too much, it was going to kill me.

Thankfully, before Candace could see my floundering, the door's bell tinkled, signaling a customer. She glided over, still casting glances everywhere, shoulders still touching her ears.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around myself, shaking.

…I wasn't going to get over this anytime soon, was I?

**

* * *

**

**Me: *still in room, still haven't left* Okay, so I didn't dish _all_ the dirt on Wizard. It was more like a dusting than a dishing…So sue me, it was getting too long. But the next one will be faster to churn out, mostly because I'll have lots of fun with it. I ain't talking, but it's gonna be good, to you people asking for more Mizzy. ^-^**

**Loony: …_Mizzy_?**

**Me: Wizzy/Molly! Mizzy! Or Wolly, but that sounds too much like Wall-E. (I luv dat movie!)**

**Loony: …I don't know you.**

**Me: *sticks out tongue and slams door***

**Loony: *to you* For you people wondering why Candy still worries about alerts when you already told us that it has nothing to do with the police…She doesn't get the Internet in her room…*grins evilly* …which means she only knows what _I _tell her. :) And I'm goin' to milk this to the last drop!**

**Me: *pokes out head again, completely unaware that Loony's duping her* Oh, and I was wondering…What would you do if you were in Molly's cute boots right now? Take up Gill on his offer? Stay home for a week or two eating bins of ice cream and watching cute/sad chick flicks (that'd be my approach)? Try to find Wizard and win him back? …D-…Destroy everyone on the face of the Earth…(hopefully not)? Something else? I dunno, but I wanna know! So please hit that lil' green button down there, you know the one! ;) **


	7. The Firefly Festival

**Whoooo, this baby's a long one! Mostly because I got carried away with fluff…But fluff is so much fun…Oh, and I wasn't sure how to get this started.**

**Funny thing. I always type in a long line of "blahs" at the beginning of a chapter while I think of a beginning. Which is where I got the idea of how to start this chapter! Let's hear it for stupid quirks! They saved mon apologetique derriere!**

**So I _finally_ finished these two chapters. I was so antsy when I put up the author's note, I thought it was against fanfic's rules to do so. I got the hugest scare when I clicked "Login", and it said that I didn't have any stories published! I _freaked_ _out_! **

**Loony: It's true. I feared for my life.**

**Me: Quit being sarcastic. Anyway, it turns out that I had just logged onto Loony's account, and that my blood pressure had skyrocketed for nothing.**

**Loony: Then I _did _fear for my life.**

* * *

"Blah! Blahblah blubbed-y blah blah!" Finn screeched, waving his arms as he hovered in front of my face. "Blah blah bloo blah _blah_!"

I batted him away, tightening my grip on my Chunky Monkey. "Blah blah!"

He stopped twittering. "_What_??"

I brushed away the stray locks of bed-head that kept falling into my eyes to get a good look at him. "You're not making any sense. All you're saying is 'blah blah!'"

He wrinkled his nose. "You need to get outside. Your brain's turning to blah blah blah blah…"

My eyes drifted back to the little TV, which was currently playing _Pride and Predjudice_. I had just gotten to one of the good parts…

And then I heard him use the word 'stupid.' I tore my eyes away from Kiera Knightly and That-Hot-Mr.-Darcy's faces. "What'd you j-just say?"

He stuck his hands on his hips, obviously trying to be intimidating. And as always, he was failing miserably at it. "If you had been _listening_, then you'd _know_."

My fingernails dug into my soft blanket I had wrapped around me. "Tell me what you said, you little munchkin!"

"Who're you calling munchkin!"

"_You_, b-bird butt!"

He gasped, eyes widening, then narrowing. "Well, you're a lazy stupid bird _brain_! Speaking of which, have you seen your hair? A bird _will_ choose it for its nest if you're not careful!"

"M'not-t laz-z-zy, I'm _mourning_!" I wailed, ducking my head under the blanket, figuratively hiding from everything and literally hiding from that sprite.

"Well, you need to stop." Finn said. "You think I don't sympathize? I feel horrible! But it's been weeks!"

"Two weeks and five days."

"Can't you grin and bear it instead of sitting here, eating ice cream and watching some stupid chick fli-…" He squinted at the TV screen, "…Why are they spinning in circles…?"

"That's c-called _dancing_, Finny."

"…….Right…Anyway!" He turned back to me. "Watching some stupid chick flick with weird people in weird clothes with weird accents?"

I started getting really red. Who wouldn't in this situation under my particular circumstances? One of the pillars of my life was being attacked by a tiny fairy! "Th-this is a classic!"

"I repeat: Weird people. Weird clothes. Weird accents."

"Says the deranged oompa-loompa in an orange onesie with a tiny pip-squeak voice…" I muttered through another spoon of creamy goodness.

"What was that?" I shrugged, and he continued after giving me the evil eye, "You should be outside! Caring for your farm! Weeding! Milking Tiny! Socializing! Looking for the bells!" He threw up his arms. "You have to make sacrifices to live life!"

"I am sacrificing."

"How?"

"This is Chunky Monkey." I held up a glob in front of him.

"…How is that a sacrifice?" He asked slowly.

"I wanted Choco-mallow."

"………" He hovered for a moment, just staring at the melting ice cream. Then: "That's it! You're going out!"

- - -

The summer heat pressed down on me, beating at my back like a drum. It was an oppressing temperature, the kind that the Harvest deities saved only for days when they were in a particularly bad mood. Kinda rude of them, actually, to take out their anger on us mortals. What'd we do to deserve it??

Suddenly, it got a whole lot hotter, like the sun was just inches from me. I smiled up at the sky. "Eh-heh, jist kiddin'!" Stupid self-centered Harvest God. "Hey, at least my wet hair is drying faster!" If it was freezing, then my newly showered head would snag me some pneumonia. …Which would then mean that I would _have_ to stay inside with my bucket of ice cream and soft blanket, A/C blasting…Gee, dodged a big bullet _there._

"What are you _doing_?" Finn gave me the look that only the townsfolk gave me, usually when they caught me talking to Finn. The "What-Mental-Institution-Do-_You_-Belong-To?" look.

"Nothing. Heart-to-heart chat with the big guy upstairs?" I pointed up with an innocently vague expression on my face, then shrugged and continued on my (phonily) merry way.

Because of the ungodly weather, I hardly passed anyone as I walked to town, and even when I entered it. I guess everyone was inside with their A/C's…?

Fine by me. I didn't want any human contact for a while anyway. I didn't think that I was strong enough to endure it.

That stupid house at the top of town stood there, looming, sitting, staring down at me. But I didn't cry. No, I had already done enough of that. My tear ducts will probably be out of commission for a decade before they completely refuel.

But don't think that I was at all affected by the sight of that house. No, nope, I am a-okay! A-…oh-…kay…

I turned on my heel and headed back across the bridge out of town. A bit of me at the back of my mind whispered that this bridge was where _we_ had our first outing. Not even an outing…Was it perhaps…a date?

Guh! Going to town was a waste of time, I should go get seeds instead. I wasn't really thinking when I headed out; Finn just shooed me out and told me to take a walk. Speaking of Finn, he was hiding under my straw hat, complaining incessantly about the summer heat.

…Funny thing, I think he's been complaining this whole time. It's amazing how well you can ignore someone when you get used to their drone.

I stopped at the top of the beach, scenting the salty air wafting up. Maybe a swim would be nice? Clear my head, chase away some of this unpleasant…business? Wash it away like sticky mud, let it disperse in the water.

But then I heard voices. I timidly stood there, thinking and measuring chances. I finally gave into that demon called Curiosity and walked over. Peering over, I saw a bunch of people already swimming.

Stay? Go. Walk up? Run away. I turned, all ready to spring away before I was caught, and henceforth cast into a big social situation that I, quite frankly, didn't want to partake in.

Then I heard my name being called. I silently cursed at myself, turning to see who it was that had spotted me.

However, no one was looking at me, or even in my direction. In fact…

I practically smacked myself for the sheer theatrical effect of it. They were playing a well-known game that involved a blindfolded Maya waving about in the water, trying to tag one of the others. But they decided to give it a Castanet twist.

"Molly!" Maya yelled, uncharacteristically still for a moment in anticipation and strategy.

"Paolo!" The others whispered quietly, trying not to get caught. All except Luke. He yelled as loud as he could:

"PAOLO!!!"

Maya pitched to the side and tagged him.

"AWWWW!" He pouted. "I've already been it a million times!" He went underwater for a spell, counting down…

Then he sprang out and started waving about, splishing and splashing and causing a general ruckus that I'd learned to associate with the young carpenter. All the while, he yelled, "MOLLY MOLLY MOLLY MOLLY MOLLY MOLLY MOLLY!"

Obviously, he didn't quite get the game.

I rolled my eyes and smacked my forehead again. Looking around, I realized that I'd instinctively ducked down into the bushes. "Stalker…" Finn muttered.

"Shh." I crept forward, coming to crouch a little ways behind a couple of people. It was these three that interested me the most.

"Hm…" Gill scratched the back of his head, ruffling his light hair, which looked white in the sunlight. He could've passed for an albino had it not been for the developing sunburn donning every inch of his exposed skin. I was surprised to see that he was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. It was so weird to see Gilligan Hamilton in informal attire – Kinda like seeing a flying pig, or a relevant-to-life algebra topic. "Are you sure that she wasn't just spouting jargon?"

"I'm _s-s-sure_." Candace squeaked. Ah, poor girl. Even in this heat, she was wearing the same outfit as usual. She must be roasting. "Are there m-many w-words that you can mistak-ke for 'Wiz-'". She clamped her hands over her mouth.

He frowned at her. "You shouldn't be so afraid of the name. _Wizard_."

"Eep!"

Toby, who was just sitting next to them with his line cast into a little stream that flowed into the ocean, looked over with a smooth face. However, I could just see the tiniest _twitch_ in the corner of one closed eye. "What about him? The Wizard?"

"EEP!"

"Apparently," Gill leaned back slightly, "Our dear Molly has picked up on a dark part of our history."

"How?" Toby drew in his line and got ready to cast again.

"That's just it. _How_? It's certainly not the preferred small-talk topic of this island." He looked like he tapped his chin, hard to tell from the back. "Maybe it was my father? He's such an idiot, after all…No, that's not it. He relates every minute detail of his day every night at dinner, I would've picked that up."

"M-mayb-be one of them out-t there?" Candace pulled one of her arms from her knees to point out to the water.

Gill shook his head. "No. Where's the motivation? Same goes for our elders. Basically, everyone we know!"

"Ch-Cha-Chase?" Candace stuttered. "As a w-way to scare her off th-the island? Make her l-leave?"

Gill crossed his arms and straightened his posture, gazing out at the lapping waves. "Chase is the last person on this entire planet to talk about _that_ _incident_, as you full-well know. Out of all of us, he was probably the most deeply affected." He slouched a bit despite consciously trying to maintain good posture. "Of course, I can see your perspective…I've never seen him antagonize anyone as badly as Molly." He sighed, obviously deep in thought. "I wonder if it's because she reminds him of-"

"Sorry to interrupt." Toby said, "But the subject of this conversation is sitting right behind us."

"………" Waaaaait a second. I froze for a moment, still trying to process what I'd just heard. The train was still boarding at the station, if you will.

It finally hit me the very second before Candace and Gill turned to look at me, the first with genuine surprise and the second with an Arctic stare. "…Toby?" Gill said steadily, still looking at me. "…How long…did you know that she was there…?"

The lazy boy shrugged with a slight smile and returned to his fishing.

I rolled back onto my haunches and continued my deer-in-the-headlights impersonation. I was quite good at it too, if I do say so myself. Finally, I managed a lopsided grin. "H-…hey?"

Candace: "…"

Gill: "…"

Toby: "Zzzzzzz…" He adjusted his huge hat over his face and issued another snore. How did he fall asleep so fast? He could give Garfield the comic-strip cat a run for his lasagna.

Candace was the first to break the silence. "H-hey, Molly! How a-are you d-doing t-tod-d-day?" It was obvious that she was trying to maneuver my mind away from what I'd just heard.

Gill just stared with a blank face.

Okay, I'll play along. But only because I didn't want them to ask how I'd heard of the Wizard. I crawled out and sat out in the open before them. "I'd b-be a whole lot better if it was cooler out. You?"

She shrugged. "The s-same." She blinked at me, leaning forward, "But don't w-worry ab-bout the heat. It's supposed t-to get r-r-really nice in time for t-tonight!"

"…Tonight?"

"It's th-the Firefly Fest-t-tival. You kn-know, the thing J-Julius has been r-anting on and-d on about these p-p-past few weeks?"

"Oh…Yeah…"

Gill slouched even more, looking miserable, though he tried to hide it behind his usual mask.

"S-so, are y-you c-c-coming?" Candace smiled.

"Oh…No…"

Gill stuck his hands in his pockets and turned his face uncomfortably to the side, away from me. I could tell that the red that covered his whole face wasn't just sunburn.

"Wha~_a~a~a~a~a~at_?" Julius and Luna popped up behind them, mouths wide. "Not on your sweet but painfully dull life!" And with that, they snatched me and dragged me off.

- - -

_There has got to be something in the Constitution about this…_

I didn't even fight it. I was too tired. Let them have their fun, I thought wryly as Luna forced me into that dress Candace gave me before.

_But didn't they think that the sparkly eye shadow was pushing it?_ I ground my teeth as Julius brushed off my complaints and started swabbing it on my lids.

_So, in conclusion…of course not. _

I went into zombie-mode, my eyes on screensaver. While Julius and Luna fussed with my general appearance, I mostly contemplated what I'd picked up while I'd eavesdropped on Gill and Candace. What was that whole thing with Chase about anyway? I reminded him of who? And will anyone tell me what "the Incident" was, big quotation marks and all? I hated being stringed along, and this stringing has been strung far too long!

Anyway, when I finally came out of my reverie…

I was somehow already next to the river, holding a blue paper thing in my hand. "W-wh-wha-?"

"Haven't you been listening to what I've been saying?" Luna chimed next to me. "You've been _soooo_ spacey lately, Moll'!" I shook my head in a stupid attempt to clear it, feeling something small-but-hard whap against my temple. Luna smacked my hand as it went up to investigate it. "No!" she admonished as if I were a child. "Don't you _dare_ ruin the hair that we worked so hard on! I swear, your hair is _so_ un-malleable, it isn't even funny!"

I sighed and looked down into the water lapping at my feet. By the light of the paper lanterns hanging at the booths, I could sorta make out what had happened to me as my mind had wandered.

"Wow…" I said, sort of pleasantly surprised. However, my voice came out robotic and gravelly.

Julius threw his arms around my shoulders. "Am I not a genius?? I could just eat you all up, my dear!" He coughed and let go. "If I do say so myself. But don't tell Candy I said that, please. Wouldn't want the love of my life thinking that I'm unfaithful, which I am _not_, B T W!"

"Gotcha." I faked a smile and adjusted the lightning-bug clip in my curled hair.

"WAHHH!" Both Julius and Luna grabbed the offending hand. "No touchy-touchy!"

"…Gotcha."

"Don't you two think that you're fighting a losing battle?" Gill came up behind us with a blue paper thingy just like mine. "She'll never_ not_ mess with her hair. It's one of her unbreakable habits."

I looked back, more than a little apprehensive to see his expression, but was happy to see one side of his mouth quirk up in a warm-by-Gill-standards smile. "Y-you listen to the boy, he's full of wise-ness. Knows of what he speaks." This time, my smile wasn't as fake as Selena's…eyelashes.

"Oh, Gill!" Luna murmured, eyes fluttering in what she probably hoped was seductively. "I was _hoping _to see you here!"

"Had to come. Father wouldn't let me hear the end of it when I said I wasn't." He checked his watch. "When is this over with?"

Luna frowned – I guess that wasn't the response that she wanted? – and walked off after Julius, who was monologue-ing with (to?) Candace.

We were both quiet for a while, both staring off in different directions. Finally Gill gave a great big sigh and turned to me. "I'm sorry for causing you any…inconvenience, Molly. Any way I can make it up?"

I felt my face light up all over again. I stroked my chin in gaudy-thoughtfulness. "Welllll, there are a couple of thing's…"

He nodded. "Fire away."

"Okay, number one. What's this?" I held up my blue paper thing.

He regarded it coolly, then snickered. "Isn't it obvious? It's a lantern!" I blinked at it in wonder as he continued on. "Wow, are you sure that you aren't blonde under all those big red-brown curls?"

"Sh-shush, lemon-head." I waved at him with my lantern. It just fluttered in the night breeze, the uselessly fragile thing. "Awright, number two! I want a big hug, because I really missed having my best friend around."

He rose his fair eyebrows. "'Best friend?'" He grinned, one that seemed slightly more Luke than Gill, "Hey, I'll take that and run with it any day."

"Just make sure not to ruin my precious hair." I joked as we hugged. "And finally, number three…I'll bring that up at a better time, 'kay? This isn't exactly the best setting for it."

A ghost of suspicion crossed his face. "Really? What is-"

"Gilligan!!" Mayor Hamilton came up and grabbed his son, wrapping his arm around his bony shoulders. "Isn't this wonderful!? A perfect night, couldn't have asked for anything better! Ah!" His little eyes positively lit up like fireworks when he saw me. "And if it isn't Good-Golly-Miss-Molly! How beautiful you are tonight! A goddess among mortals!"

"…" Are you sure that you've been eating enough carrots? Your eyesight's going bad. I thought that the amount of makeup I felt on my face qualified me more as a 'toddler who got a-hold of Mommy's makeup kit' than a goddess. But hey, you don't mess with the mayor. Besides, I'm just not accustomed to make-up, maybe it wasn't as clownish as I thought? It's hard to tell with Fashionista-Thing-1 and -2.

Hamilton then launched into a huge speech to Gill, complete with un-needed, gaudy, extravagant gestures.

Suddenly, I felt something. Just the tiniest pull in my semi-conscious. I looked over, up the hill. You know, the one that led into Fugue Forest? … Yeah, that one.

Finn twisted his head back and forth, alternating rapidly between my face and where it was staring at in the distance. "Molly…"

I glanced back to see if anyone had felt it too, that little tug in the gut. But it didn't look that way. Maya was shoving firefly-shaped cookies in her mouth without a care. Dr. Jin and Anissa were examining some water-lilies that floated near the water mill, discussing if there were any healing properties to them. Renee was showing Toby the little rabbit that usually hanged around here. That quiet preacher-boy…Perry?...was staring off into the horizon thoughtfully. Bo and Taylor and Chloe sat off to the side chatting and laughing. Chase was actually here too, leaning against the fence, clutching an orange lantern and glaring off into the orange sunset, his purple eyes fiery and…sad? Nah, I was probably just imagining it. Other people had coupled off and were standing around, talking about whatever. Gill and his father were in a big discussion that didn't look like it would end soon.

So I silently glided off, taking off my black ballet flats for stealth. Which actually doesn't make any sense. Wouldn't you notice someone who was obviously trying not to be caught, walking on the balls of their feet, shoes in hand, shoulders tense, wincing at every crackle of grass?

Thankfully, though, I wasn't noticed. Remember, this is a _romantic _festival – People were too busy ogling each other to take a good look around.

Kinda wish I had somebody ogling _me_…

…No. Scratch that. Forget I ever thought that. You saw _nothing_, capishe?

I padded up the hill, feeling the mysterious pull getting stronger and stronger with each step. I pressed on, trying to ignore Finn's incessant nagging. "Dude, calm down. You're such a worry-wart! You make _me _look like a daredevil!"

He clung to me, little body shivering a little despite the warm summer air. "I dunno, Molly, I just don't have a good feeling about this! Something about this situation doesn't…feel…right…"

I looked around. Everything seemed fine to me. But appearances can be deceiving… "Great, now you're affecting _me_ wi-ith your scared-y-ness." I said to Finn, voice cracking once.

"I certainly hope so," came the way-too-deep-voiced answer.

- - -

"I certainly hope so," came the way-too-deep-voiced answer.

I froze, too afraid to look, too afraid to acknowledge, too afraid to understand…

And too afraid to scream.

I felt one of his steely arms catch both of mine. "AH!" I yelped before he clamped a rough hand over my mouth. "There are so many amazing things to do with the human mouth…" I felt him breathe in my ear, "Why waste it on yelling for help?"

I trembled uncontrollably. _Help…Someone help…Oh no…Oh please…_

Finn went wild, buzzing and flying, my faithful little sprite. "Oh no you don't you let go of her right this instant or else I'll beat you to a pulp I'll make you wish you were never born I'll make you beg for mercy don't you dare hurt her you PERVERT!" He screamed, and I could just barely hear him thudding against Owen again and again. But for all the heart and effort that he put into it, he was still only a few ounces, still only inches high. And that just wasn't going to do squat against the not-so-friendly-giant.

He grunted and repositioned me so that I was still caught and gagged, but that he had a free hand to wave about. Adrenaline coursing through me like bravery-inducing fire, I bit the hand and coughed out, "Finn! Magic!" I took a deeper breath to scream, but was quickly silenced again.

"What're you, nuts??"

"Mpht-aghank-ka!" I looked behind him to see Finn starting to glow slightly, gathering his powers. That's right…but please hurry up!

"What?" He grinned, obviously enjoying my fear. He drew back his hand – probably to slap me – but instead hit Finn, who crashed into one of the forest's trees and flunked face-down into the sparse grass.

I thrashed back and forth, trying to rush to him. Was he okay?? He sure as heck was not, he was just rammed into inflexible and rough bark! Oh…no no no, not Finny! _Help! Dear Goddess, somebody help!_

Tears sprang up in my eyes, blurring the devil's face. "Hm. I wonder if I hit a bat or something…Cool! I'll have to find it in the morning!" He grinned again, that same wolfy smile, all teeth and no sincerity. No warmth. No mercy. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes…" He stroked my jaw with his thumb, back…and forth…back…and forth…Almost hypnotically. I almost didn't notice that he was slowly dragging me into the forest…Almost.

He shoved something nasty in my mouth, gagging me with a dirty rag that tasted a lot like charcoal and oil. I felt a stab of pain, looking down to see a piece of twine had been tightly knotted around my left wrist. I saw him tie the other end around a sturdy branch that was pretty high above my head, then double-knot it, then triple. "Can't take any chances, right? Can't have you escaping, blabbing off to everyone, including my serious girlfriend. Kathy _already_ doesn't like you…Thinks that you're out to steal me away from her…" He shoved his nose into my soft neck, prodding it like a wolverine does to its kill before _digging_ _in_. "Stupid…All girls are…But at least they're good for _something_…"

I struggled as he started messing with my dress, playing with the soft fabric. At least he wasn't doing anything yet…

But the threat was evident, ominously approaching, seemingly unstoppable. As if to prove this point, he lightly kissed the tip of my nose, then promptly knocked me on the back of the head with a stray branch. Black spots exploded in my vision, making the night even darker.

Why do predators have to play with their prey?

My entire body went into overdrive, starting with my brain, though it was really fuzzy from the assault of adrenaline and red-alert hormones and tree branches. Everything was on fire, everything was charged with potent electric power. _HELP! HELP ME! DEAR GODDESS! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY! OH NO NO NO NO NOOOO!_

Suddenly, there was even more electricity in the air than even I could generate inside myself.

And what did I do? Why, I fainted from the sheer shock of it all.

* * *

"…_Molly!_"

My eyelids fluttered.

"_MOLLY!_"

I lifted my head up, looking up.

There was a figure curled up on the ground. I slowly but surely realized that it was Owen. My instincts immediately told me what that meant: He was out of commission! Escape! Escape!

My already clumsy fingers stumbled around the tight knots on the tree branch. It was just so high…

I gasped when I heard a moan. My antagonist was coming to – he slowly sat up, still confused and wobbly.

I redoubled my efforts with the twine, not even caring how it rubbed my skin raw wherever they came into contact.

Finally, miraculously, it came undone. But not even after I took two steps towards freedom, he caught me again. "Where do you think _you're_ going, my little doll…?"

I struggled – guess that I still haven't gotten it through my head that there was absolutely _no _chance of escape when it came to this monster – but it became half-hearted and weak as that last thought started to dawn on me.

I was just…so…tired…of it all. Maybe I should just give up. Give in. Let it be over with. Let it be done. Then pick up all the pieces that I could manage to hold and live on…

"_No! Don't you dare give up!_"

My eyes snapped open, my heart stopped. "Mgtck??" No…it couldn't be!

And yet, there he was. Disguised in a huge black shroud, but it was him nonetheless. Shifting back and forth at the entrance of the forest, pacing, staring in with an intensity that I'd never seen before. His hands glowed, his eyes glowed, even his skin and white hair. Everything about him was charged with something almost tangible. Powerful. But for some reason, neither he nor his magic seemed to gain entrance into the forest, though he seemed to be trying with everything he had.

"_I can't…get…in. You need to get out here, Molly, then I can protect you!_"

"What. Is. Your. Major. Malfunction??" Owen grunted as I struggled with all the more fervor. I twisted, I turned, I punched, I kicked. I tried to be strategic about it, but I honestly could hardly remember to breath, let alone where weak points were.

Thankfully, there was one universally-known weak spot that every girl remembers, no matter how dire the situation. I swung my foot around and swiftly kicked at him in that area.

And suddenly, I was free.

I sprinted. I ran for all that I was worth and more. I ran for life. I ran for freedom. I ran for safety. I might have even ran for lo-

And I tripped just short of the exit, my fingertips centimeters from Wizard's, my right ankle on fire.

I couldn't help it; I just had to look back. And what I saw was Owen towering right above me, frowning down. He pressed his boot firmly into the small of my back.

He looked up and stared at the Wizard. "Who the hell are you?"

"O-oh…" I was surprised to hear the crackly rasp of an elderly man leave Wizard's hood. "I am me-erely an old sto-ry tel-ler. May I ask who the-e he-ell _you _are?"

He sneered, "The last thing you'll ever see in your worthless life."

And then he punched at Wizard.

- - -

"Nhkoh!" I screeched into my gag as Owen's right fist went right for Wizard's hooded face.

But before it could connect with it's target, he caught it in a glowing hand, stopping it entirely. "You…shouldn't have done that…" he said dangerously, now in his regular voice.

Owen's eyes widened in surprise and…fear? "N-no! You've g-go-ot it a-all wro-o-ong!"

"…Really…shouldn't…have…done…that…"

**

* * *

**

**Wahhh, I feel horrible! I promised you guys more "Mizzy" and there's hardly any "Wizzy" in the "Mizzy"! It's more like just "M" or even *shudders* "Mowen"! ARRRRG!**

**Which is why I decided to wait to update this until I had the next chapter done too. I simply can't leave it on such a horrible note! You people deserve better!**

**Maybe I should rate this story "Mature" because of this chapter? I'm pretty sure that this is as…bad…as it gets (I think). I dunno, I don't think I will unless it gets called for with a passion. I never knew that I could ever write something as serious and scary as that, and so easily, too. …It's scaring me… :(**

**Anyway! Please review! I love them very much, no matter what they say! I'm kinda afraid to say this, but I'll even accept _constructive _criticism! Emphasis on _constructive_. See, I did it again. _Constructive_. As in: No flames. I haven't gotten any yet, but I have a feeling with this chapter…I just don't like it, tho I feel that it's crucial. It was a scene that I've been intending on since I started this. (See, you need a big bad dragon with princess-toasting breath before the shining knight can ride in and make everything all happily-ever-after…-ish…)**

**So…anyway…no flames, please! Capishe? Capishe. (I love saying that, and I don't even know how to spell it! Capishe capishe!)**


	8. There's So Much That You Do Not Know

**Two chappies in one day! I'm on a roll, whatever that means!**

**HOLY OBAMA IT'S SWELTERING OUTSIDE!!! …Just saying…**

* * *

"…Really…shouldn't…have…done…that…"

Slowly, as if something were bogging him down, Wizard pulled Owen out by his balled fist until he had him out in the wide open. I stayed perfectly still, too afraid, unsure, hurt, and confused to get up. I watched from the ground, twigs and rough pebbles digging into my stomach, my twisted ankle shooting little white-hot darts of pain up my leg.

However, I suddenly found the bushes to be a much safer place when Wizard suddenly _let him go_. But when I was halfway to them, I heard him say in my mind, "_Do not worry…Look._" I chanced a glance back…

Owen was five feet above the ground, boots kicking uselessly at thin air.

My eyes slid to Wizard. He was still wearing that huge black shroud that covered everything from his head to his toes, except the hand that was extending up at Owen. It was this hand that scared both me and my almost-rapist. It wasn't just glowing…No, it looked like it was on _fire_. Smoky white flames licked at his tan fingers, illuminating everything close to him except his face. "You have…attacked Miss Molly with certain…intentions." he murmured in a deep, ethereal voice that echoed in both our ears and minds.

Owen waved his arms, still trying to get his feet on solid earth, like any sensible earth-bound creature would. "Hey man, w-we're c-cool, we're cool! Can you just let me down, nice and slowl-"

"You…" he interrupted, "You will _never_…touch her…again. Do you hear me?"

"Hey m-man, m'sorr-"

"_Do you hear me?_"

Owen gasped in wondering fear when Wizard conveyed that to his very mind. "Yesyes! Y-yes. Sir, yes, I d-do!"

I tensed. He had just reduced the island's most egotistical, macho he-man to a shivering puppy. The slightest sliver of doubt that had embedded itself into my mind so long ago suddenly grew bigger, stabbing into me. What if the rumors were true? What _had_ happened, years ago?

Was Wizard not all that he had showed to me?

He looked over at me, and I flinched.

"_There's so much…_" he whispered sadly, softly within me, "_That you do not know…_" He lowered his head for a moment, then threw his arm to the side forcefully, magically throwing Owen back into the forest. There was a loud thud, then thick silence – He had probably hit a tree, knocking himself out cold.

I stayed frozen, still on my hands and knees, not even daring to look back. Then I remembered something. "Finn!" I staggered up, only to fall again. My legs just weren't with me yet, and I was almost certain that I had sprained my ankle anyway. I grumbled as I crawled around on all-fours, hurriedly combing the area.

Wizard came over and knelt before me. "Hey…" He said, "I have…him…"

I gasped when he held out his cupped hands. Inside, quiet, sleeping, snoring, but very much alive, was my Finn.

I cradled him close to me like a mother would her child, feeling his tiny hummingbird heartbeat close to my own. "…Th-thank you. Oh Goddess…" A couple of tears rolled down my cheeks. "I was s-s-so w-worried! I th-thought for sure that he would n-need medical attention."

"He…did." He reached out and placed one finger lightly on the sprite's forehead, as if checking his temperature, "I had to heal him. He was…nearly…dead."

I stared down at him, too cowardly to look up at the other presence here. "I'm s-so s-sorry, Finn. I sh-should've listened to you. I should've-"

I felt something exceedingly hot touch my right leg. I jerked it back when I realized that it was Wizard's hand, even though it hurt like hell set to 'Extra Crispy.' "H-hey, watch it! I've had enough ind-decent exposure for one n-night, awright??" I gasped hotly, cheeks burning as badly as my twisted ankle. Then I understood. "Oh…sorry. I guess that I j-just couldn't he-elp assuming after…after just a while ago."

He nodded without a word and reached out once again, placing his warm hands on my twisted/sprained/strained (does it really matter? Let's put it this way: I can't walk!) ankle. His hands flashed green once, twice, three times, four. My entire body became frigid, as if I had swallowed half a vat of liquid nitrogen and then bathed in the rest. I scrunched my eyes instinctually, intense cold coursing through my veins. It was the kind of cold that burned like its complete opposite – Fire.

Thankfully, the unwelcome sensation only lasted a few seconds. I rolled my ankle experimentally – It was fine. But I was still shivering. Small price to pay, but an annoying side effect nonetheless.

Without speaking, he draped his huge black cloak over me. I wanted it too badly to protest, so I simply hugged it around myself and compared it to my soft blanket back home. The green one with sock monkeys playing and having tea-parties on it. The one that I had just been in this morning, playing hide-and-please-don't-seek. All because he had broken my heart, this man sitting in front of me now.

Could he even see my discomfort? Goddess, I hope not. I didn't want that at all…I think… I looked over at him to see if I could glean anything off him to help my confusing, conflicting emotions.

I would've expected his face to be closed off, the door to his heart shut right in my face, under lock and key. Instead, it was quite expressional – already narrow eyes halfway open, jaw relaxed, eyebrows slightly knit. The thing was, what kind of expression was _that_? As if to answer, he listed a bit to the right, but quickly corrected himself with a shake of his head and straightened up. But just as soon as he had, he started leaning to the left. I couldn't help but ask. "A-are you okay, Mr. Wiz-?" My throat closed on that last word.

He blinked sleepily. "…Too…much…"

He collapsed into a comatose heap.

I rushed over to him, mouth slightly agape with worry and confusion and…more worry. "W-Wiza- Wizar-!" Gah! Say the name! How's that so hard?? I turned him over to see his face, try to see what was wrong. He looked up at me with one eye – The stunning green one. His gold eye was shut closed. His breathing was slow and deep.

He stared at me. "…magic…"

"Huh?" Magic? Too much…magic?

His eye closed slowly, exhaustion forcing its lid down. Then he sighed…already asleep!

I was still freaking out. "Finn! Is he okay? Oh no. Fi-…!" Oh. Yeah. Finn was half dead, snoozing on my head, blanketed and secured by the big bouncy waves that Luna had made in my hair in what felt like ages ago.

I felt something move, and looked down to see Wizard settle his head on my outstretched thighs, his face peaceful. I gazed down at him, amazed. Was this really the same man that had been so scary and threatening not half an hour ago? I simply couldn't connect that dark aura of before with this serene face, as innocent and clear as a brand new day's morning.

I shook my head slowly, trying to not disturb Finn or Wizard. What nonsense words. What in the world were they doing, fluttering in my thoughts, being used to describe _him_? Had I already forgotten the state I was in for the past week? …Or two. Or three…….I really gotta check a calendar.

I jumped when I heard a noise. Straining my ears, my heart plummeted when I distinguished voices and footsteps. No! What about Wizard?? Who knows what will happen if…No. They can't see him!

I clenched my fists. No. They _won't _see him.

- - -

"I'm sure he's somewhere around here." Selena said certainly, looking around regally. "Now, where could he have gone?"

"Ah don' know!" Kathy gasped, close to hysterics. "All Ah know's I turn mah back for a moment, an' suddenly, he's disappeared. And so did tha' Molly slut!" I winced and bit my lip. Hard. How could she call me that? I looked up to her, I thought we were friends!

Maya didn't say anything discernable – Her mouth was full of sugar cookie, the crumbs littering her pink lips. It's hard to see, crouched in the dark, but I had seen her doing a chipmunk impression before with Chase's birthday cake for Yolanda, so it wasn't hard to imagine. She did, however, mumble out some garbled protest. To put it in words: "W'ack oo oo'meng shesh gisk!" She swallowed several times, nodding her head while she gulped. Finally, she said in English, "What do ya mean (?) she's nice I like her!"

"Shore she's nahce. For ah sneaky, lying, bahckstabbin' boy'frend stealah!"

With each accusation, I sank a little lower into my depressing pool of depression.

"But. But. But. But…" Maya droned like a broken toddler's toy, "How can you be so sure I mean really she doesn't seem like that kind of person she seems really sweet and quiet and what's-the-word loyal not a backstabber plus she likes you a lot she told me so!"

Selena grumbled something to herself, then to the others. "Tell me, _why _did we take her along? She is quite obviously under Molly's spell. Maybe the new girl knows voodoo?"

Kathy's head snapped to her. Maya gasped, accidently inhaling some stray cookie crumbs. "_Cough cough-_don't say-_cough-_that it's very bad-_cough-_luck!"

"Pfft. I've never believed your stupid stories anyway. Ancient, ridiculous jargon for banana brains with coconut milk for blood."

"It's not jargon it's very true it only happened about twelve or thirteen years ago I know 'cuz I was about seven then and why did you have to mention bananas and coconuts now I'm hungry!"

"Gah, shaddap, both o' yah!" Kathy whapped at them with her white shawl-wrap. "There's more important thin's thahn dat!" She made sure that they were both searching with her before she said more. "And to ansa'r yer question, Owen's been a-talkin' to me. Says dat she's been puttin' de _moves _on 'im. He's 'ad ta deal with her almost ev'ry day, jumpin' at 'im, huggin' 'im, stalkin' 'im." She shook her head angrily. "She's gone done ev'rythang in 'er power to steal mah boy away. Wull, she's gotta'nother thang comin'!"

Selena nodded, standing just feet from where Wizard was sleeping right next to me, both of us hidden under that super useful cloak. I sucked in my breath, staying completely still …but she just walked on by. Phew… "Yeah, he's been telling me too. He warned that I should lock away Luke, that she's set her sights on him too."

"Imagine! Can't 'ave jist one off-limits guy, she's gotta have two!"

Selena cleared her throat. "Actually, I'm not too worried. Lukie's too much of an idiot to fall for her. He's already fallen for me, and that's taken up enough of his brain power as is. Another girl would only make it short-circuit…Plus…he knows that I'd be a force to reckon with if he fooled around." She giggled, lightening up the dark words that she had just uttered. "Ahaha, but that all's just why I love him so much!"

Kathy ignored this. "And who knows? She might even set her hungry gaze on others. Maybe even…Chase?"

Maya froze. "…Huh?..."

Kathy nodded, glad to finally gain Maya's full attention. "Yep. They've been dukin' it out lately publically, but I've seen dem when they thought no one wuz watchin'. And by the way? He always helps 'er when she barfs up the snacks ya give 'er." Ah! No! Sure, she was finally saying something that was partially true, but of all the truthful things, why that? Maya's so sweet, she was twisting her, beating her down! How could Kathy be so cruel?

That's it. I'm not listening to anything else. But I'm also not telling them off, and I'm certainly not going to let them know that I was here. Thankfully, they soon walked off, still searching for Owen. I guess they really sucked at observation skills if they couldn't even see us. Maybe that jerk will forever be lost in Fugue Forest's entrance?

Ah, wishful thinking…

I sighed and sat up, pulling the cloak back to reveal Wizard. I jumped when I realized that he was awake. He blinked up sleepily. "They...didn't see us…because of a charm I placed on this cloak…a long time ago…It activates when you wish to not be seen…"

"Qu-quit reading my mind." I snapped, trying to forget how much I thought of him when I looked at his sleeping face. "Let's just get you away from any danger of being seen, then I can go back to the Festival and pretend that this _never happened_." Except, you know, the whole being almost raped and possibly murdered. I'm gonna press charges. I'm gonna sue the living daylights out of him. The consequences? Life in jail, reimbursement for pain-and-suffering, possibly castration. We'll see.

"…And your attacker will…wake up with…with absolutely no recollection of what just transpired…So they won't catch him, since he doesn't even know it happened. The lie-detector test would be obsolete…And…I don't think that one last consequence is legally allowed…"

"I s-said to quit reading my m-mind! You lost that right a lo-…No, you never _had _the right." I frowned, a horrible taste entering my mouth when I saw his blank stare. He wasn't hurt at all? Was that how little I meant to him?

Wizard stood up with me and tossed the magical cloak around both of us as we walked down the hill to the bridge. I steely looked ahead, doing my best to not smell anything but the warm, slightly muggy summer air. The last thing I needed was to get a whiff of _him_, I was having a hard enough time as it was. I looked over at the townsfolk, just lighting their lanterns, slowly and reverently passing a lit candle around. I should be there, honoring my ancestors like a good person…

I wonder what had happened to my lantern…?

Wizard slowed, then stopped. "Do…you want to go…?" I hesitated, but nodded mutely. I was just so confused, I had to get away for a bit and clear my head. Think everything through and process every bit of it. He sighed and took a small step away from me. "…Go ahead…"

"…Thank…you…" I mumbled to my tightly wringing hands. "For everything." I stepped away, looked back at him. He lowered his head and disappeared, cloak and all.

Heart well on its way to the soles of my feet, I sprinted down to the festival.

* * *

Luna and Julius had given me hell for my messed-up hair that they had worked oh-so-Goddess-darn-hard-and-long on.

Gill was apparently worried sick when I disappeared. Thank Goddess that I was fine, because he was planning on a search party as soon as he escaped his father's smotheringly-happy clutches.

As soon as Chase's lantern was lit, he left to float it down elsewhere, hunching his shoulders as he walked away.

My lantern accidently tipped and sank into the ocean water. I was told that that's a sign that I wasn't focusing enough on my ancestors and the deceased. Which is accurate, but could you blame me if I was a little distracted?

Kathy, Selena, and Maya didn't come back while I was at the festival, but I did see the trio walking over as I was just starting on my way home. Sadly, they had found Owen – He was stumbling alongside them. But I overheard them saying that he had just ran into a tree by accident, that he couldn't remember much. Really, how stupid could you get?

That's all that I have to say on the Firefly Festival. It wasn't very important. Not at all.

Now, when I was walking home…That's a different story entirely.

- - -

I walked slowly up the dirt road next to the coastline. Since I was in the mood, I sang bits and pieces of songs, mumbling and humming whenever I forgot the words…which was a lot…

"_Breath, and I'll carry you awa~~y into the velvet sky. And we'll stir the stars around, and watch them fall awa~y into the Hudson Ba~y and plummet out of sight and sound…Below the Northern Lights, I spend my closest nights alone awake and thin-king of the weekend we were in lo-_" Eh, hum a bit, don't want to hear that word. "_We're both on the wing, look down and keep on singing, and we can go an-y-where…Are you there? Are you there? Are you there? Are you there? Or are you just a decoy dre~~eam in my head? Am I home, or am I sim-pl-y tum-bel-ing all alone…?_" Seems like I am. Which makes me think off another song…

"_I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's only me, and I walk alone. Hmmm…I walk this emp-ty street, on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one and I walk alone. M~mmm~mmm…My shadow's the only one that walks besides me. My shadow's heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me. 'Til then, I wa~alk alo~~~ne…_" Please find me…I don't like walking alone.

Then my mind switched to a new song. I've gotta stop with the sad and pitiful messages and lyrics. Maybe this one will help?"_Forget-about-it…I'll-split and-I'll be-go~one and you'll have memories you'll find hard to ignore…'Cuz after a~~ll, see-ya-sometime maybe when I, will reca~~all how ya drove me crazier! Forget about tho~ose scarlet ni~~ights…layin' by the fireside, holdin' me ti-i-i-ight…Can't remember whe~~en it felt so right, so just_…" I stopped a moment, looked up at the sky and whispered not-so convincingly, "Forget about it…"

Okay, I obviously am not choosing the best songs to sing and think about at the moment, so I think I'll shut up. Quit mewling like a forlorn cat, get moving.

I gave a small yawn as I walked up the path to my farm, one of those tiny ones that you have when you're not tired, but know that you should be in bed making big Z's. But as I was about to turn to go up, I noticed a single orange light flickering down at the ocean. As I stared, I also made out two dark figures standing next to the shoreline.

…Well, it's only about one o'clock. Might as well get in a little more trouble, round off the day. Where's the harm in that? I tucked Finn into the black ribbon tied around my waist and started down.

As I padded closer, I started to recognize the two, unhappily. The tall one who was all hunched and tense was definitely our very own mysterious and jerk-faced cook, Chase. And the other one…

Wizard spoke in a quiet but slightly-urgent voice. "…Have you found any other ingredients…?"

Chase shook his head angrily. "No, I told you already, all I could make was that chocolate truffle cheesecake."

"Expertly made…but for this potion and our circumstances…_quantity_ is better than _quality_…"

"Hey! I worked long and hard on that to make it perfect!"

He smiled faintly. "You…were always a perfectionist when it came to food…I remember that she and I would have to wait for forever while you made those sand-items for the picnics…"

"You mean 'sandwiches'?" Chase said flippantly. "And it just felt like forever because they smelled so good. And please…don't mention _her_." I could hear him grinding his teeth from here, fists tense.

Wizard nodded slowly, his eyes watching Chase's face knowingly. "Don't worry. We'll get her back…I swear."

Chase turned his face away and stared out at what I'll assume is his lantern floating and sashaying on the calm waves. For a second, I thought he'd say something sappy or sad or anything else un-Chase-like. Then he made a derisive noise in the back of his throat, a grunt/snort/meh sound that he'd obviously practiced and used to perfection. "You've been saying that for…What, twelve years? And I'm most certainly not worried!" Wizard pointedly looked out at the orange lantern as the cook continued on, sounding progressively more indignant as he talked. "And can we get real here? We'll never get her back!"

Wizard simply shook his head.

I took another step forward to hear better, but accidently stepped on a piece of dried-up kelp. I froze, muscles taut as I tried to blend in with the shadows. Both their heads swiveled to me, destroying all the hope I had that they hadn't heard the deafening crackle. "Who's that??" one hissed under his breath, glancing around. His companion stared straight at me, his eyes cutting through the dark.

I turned tail and ran, heart trying to jackhammer itself out of my chest. But before I could get far (darn my short legs!), someone tackled me, throwing us both to the sand. "Gotcha!" Chase panted, arms locked around my knees. "Who the hell do you think you are, eavesdropping on private conversations?? I don't know who you are _yet_, but you tell _no one _of what you heard, got that?"

"Let her up, Chase…It's Miss Molly."

He stared up at him urgently. "Dude, hide!" he hissed. "What if she blab-"

"Miss Molly knows…me...already."

Chase frowned at me, but let go. I got up as dignified as someone who just face-planted on the beach could, spitting out grainy sand gobs. And how is it that sand always finds a way to get in your clothes, no matter how little time you spend in it? It felt like the inside of my outfit was layered was sandpaper.

Chase crossed his arms. "She knows you already?"

Wizard hesitated. "…Yes…"

His narrowed eyes slid between me and the white-haired man. "_Do_ you know G-Man, Farm-Girl?"

Wha-? "H-huh? 'G-Man?'"

A self-satisfied smirk sprawled across his lips. "O-ho, so he didn't tell you his real name? Well, _that_ certainly says a lot. Mostly, that I'm more important to him than you." After dropping _that_ atom-bomb, he shoved past me. "Later. And I'll work on the other potion ingredients too, so see ya, G-Man."

I remained silent even after Chase's retreating back disappeared into the night, staring in his general direction with my face passively blank. I didn't even look over when Wizard cleared his throat. "…Miss Molly…" Didn't look over. "…Molly…" Still didn't answer. "…Listen…I need to talk to you." He started walking up the path to town. "Could you please…come with me?"

My eyes narrowed. I should say no. I should cross my arms and refuse to budge. Hot anger bubbled up inside of me, all the torture and pain that I had endured fueling it like emotional-gasoline. No, I should do more that just that. Much more than a pitiful 'no'. My body trembled, unable to contain the fire – fists and teeth clenched, I was ready to pitch it all at him, 'cuz it was _quite obviously all his fault_! Someway, somehow, it was. It had to be! I notched the first mental arrow and glared up to zero-in on my target…

And then my gaze connected with his.

...

…I…I'm being so…What was I…?

I staggered a bit, ashamed and confused. I had just experienced the emotional equivalent of being covered with fire, which was then dowsed with an ocean of water. I had never felt like that before. I struggled to think as my head spun. What was happening to me? I doubled over in an attempt of…I don't really know, but it helped, strangely enough.

I looked up to see his outstretched hand. "Are…Are you okay…?" I shrugged and went back to being bent over. "…I can sense your emotions. They're very…ah, unsettling…at the moment…"

I winced and bit down hard on the words bubbling inside of me, roiling and boiling excuses and meaningless jabber. _I'm sorry-It's been a long night-You broke my heart-I'm sorry-Why is life so unfair?-I'm sorry-How can I trust you?-I'm so confused-I'm sorry!_

Wizard knelt down wordlessly and wiped away the tears that had escaped and crept down my cheeks. I tensed a bit when he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him, but I easily fought the weak urge to run. But however warm and comfortable I felt, I was too afraid to open up, too afraid to lift my arms and return the favor, too afraid that he'd rip himself from me if I did.

As I mulled over my possibly well-founded fears, some words took the chance to open the doors and escape. "Why…?" Okay, one word, but there were so many endings that I could tack onto it that it did its job. He gently pulled away to look at me. Strangely, I didn't instantly let go of his black turtleneck. I quickly unlatched my white-knuckled grip and pressed my hands to my stomach, hoping that he didn't notice. Foolish, really – How could anything escape his attention?

He cleared his throat and lowered his head slightly. "…It's not safe for you to even know me…I shouldn't expose you to anymore danger than I already have." He suddenly looked up and around. "But I simply can't-…Let's discuss this elsewhere."

Was he trying to drive me insane? "No." I straightened. "I'm sick of waiting. All I ever do is wait. Everyone has their own limits, and I'm getting closer to it every day." That's about where my decisiveness and strength ended. I slumped in embarrassment at my whining. "Please. Everyone else is home, almost if not completely asleep. You're safe."

"If only I was…" he sighed deeply. "But I'll respect your…request. I've had enough of saying no to you anyway."

"You seemed perfectly fine with it a few weeks ago." I replied, unable to keep a little bit of hurt from leaking into my voice.

"It was for your own good!"

Wow. That was the first time I'd ever heard him raise his voice. I was starting to wonder if he'd suffered some minor disease that took away his breath or whatever. But his voice-box seemed pretty fine. I gave him a look that said 'I'm waiting.'

He hunched his shoulders and messed with the back of his hair, running lean, tan fingers through silky ivory. "Every moment that you spend with me is…dangerous. Not just for me, but for you too." He looked up at the bright night sky. "I can see stars…millions of miles away…but I don't see what the people would do if they realized that I was still…alive, and even worse, that I…I…"

"Just start from the beginning," I said when he trailed off, feeling very much like a psychiatrist. Lean back on the ottoman. What do you see in these inkblots? I see. And how does that make you feel? I see. *scribble scribble*

He nodded once. "I…I've been around for a long time…"

"May I ask how long?" I noted his conflicted stance and expression. "Come on. I said to tell me everything. You can trust me."

"…For as long as the Harvest deities. And I'd always gotten along with the people who'd settled on the island and their children" He plowed on, obviously not noticing that my eyes were as wide as Maya's dress. "…grandchildren…great-grandchildren…great-great grandchildren…and so on. I left them alone, they left me alone. And while I was able to accomplish much in my…field of work…Well, it can become increasingly lonely, being utterly without any real contact for…a long time." He smiled out at Chase's lantern, which was still lit and bobbing. "About fourteen years ago, I met _them_."

"Th-them who?" I asked, still considerably shaken over his age. I guess this whole magic thing was a lot more potent than I thought.

He smiled off into space, giving me a million more questions to stew over with his mysteriously pleasant aura.

**

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**

**I'm so unfaithful! I just realized it!**

**Loony: Sigh…Okay, I'll bite. How are** **you unfaithful?**

**Me: I'm writing a Wizard fanfic. I've got another in the works that I might publish that's a Jin/Akari poem-ish thingy! Why aren't I doing anything about my favorite-est character ever??**

**Loony: Well, you did give him a good part in this story…He's a jerk, but it's a biggish part, nonetheless.**

**Me: Watch it, Chasie's not a jerk! He's like an ogre or a parfait or an onion: Many layers! (if you've never seen Shrek, disregard that comment)**

**…**

**Reviews! I luvs dem! Questions, suggestions, comments, speculations, (constructive) criticism, random stuff that has nothing to do with anything at all! I take it all, 'cuz I love input and the reviews make my day all sunshine-y and happy-full. **

**Looney: Nice vocabulary. *snaps fingers. I stick a lightbulb over her head* Oh! We don't own Harvest Moon, Owl City's "On The Wing", Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", or Alison Krauss's "Forget About It"! ... You know, Candy, you're just _asking_ for legal trouble, using all these...**

**Me: I was in the musical mode! Sue me! *realizes what I just said* ...Actually, please don't...**


	9. Dark History, Enigmatic Present

**Gee, sorry for the long wait! I lost a little bit of heart back there, didn't go on this site for, like, two or three weeks or something! And then, like, I just didn't publish because I was kinda feeling not so sure about what exactly should happen in this chapter, but only for a bit, so I decided to just post it. Kinda like taking a shot - grit your teeth, close your eyes, pinch!, it is done. :) I feel better already.**

**So anyway, I formally apologize for the lateness, on hands and knees if you so please ;) . Didja miss me?? Say yes or I will sit on u! And now I must go on a tirade, so one moment please…**

**Oh my Goddess, I was SO freaked out at my first ever Varsity track meet! I mean, I was already worried when I thought I was doing shotput, 400 M (for the non-trackies, this is once around the track), 800 M, and discus.**

**Loony: Annoying. Absolutely annoying. She spent two whole hours complaining about her stomach, saying that she was too "sick" to go. And you can get sick of moaning _real fast_.**

**Me: Meh, I hear ya, I hear ya. Anyway, when we got there, I learned that the coaches had taken some *cough* _liberties _with my events. So I ended up doing discus, 800 M, _1500 M _(which is just shy of a mile), and _3200 M Relay_ (I had to do an 800 M for it). And I had to run all that _hard_. **

**Loony: Baby. Are you a cross-country runner or not? :b**

**Me: Waah! But track's so much harder! **

**Loony: Bah, you're moaning again. Since you're not saying anything relative to this story, I will. *cough cough* Ahem…Warning! Extreme cases of O.C.-ness (if it means what we think it means…) and bantering! Watch your step, and don't lean over the cliff edges, 'cuz, like, people fall off those, man!**

**Me: And we don't own Harvest Moon, nor my legs, which I'm pretty sure fell off somewhere on the track! **

* * *

The tiny rippling waves would reach out to me in an attempt to catch my toes, only to lose their momentum and shrink back to their mother-ocean. But then they'd crawl back again for another go. Persistent little waves, they were. The moon was full and high (~and it was in my eye like a big pizza pie that's amora~…I need to stop watching old Disney films…), but it wasn't nor ever was bright enough to fade out those twinkling stars…

I should've been ultra-tense, considering all of the past events that had both bedazzled and dirtied my life on the island so far. And yet, I stretched out and leaned back on my hands, examining how the moon's light flashed on everything around me. I attribute my calmness to the beautiful night and my obviously unstable mind. Just a moment ago, I was boiling with (partially) unfounded anger, and now I was smiling and breathing in the warm ocean air, looking as unhinged as…I dunno, a broken door?

I looked over at Wizard. He had been silent for some time, looking out at the horizon. He hadn't said anything for a long time, just smiling one of those smiles that people have when they reminisce. And as much as I hated popping reminiscent bubbles, this one had been floating for at least half an hour. I quietly cleared my throat, getting the figurative needle ready…

He started slightly before I could get to him. He always was one or two steps ahead of me. "Ah, I'm sorry…I had forgotten how impatient humans can be…" Wizard half-smiled his eyes sliding to me without moving his head. "I had become friends with two children."

"…Yeah…?"

He closed his eyes and drew one knee to his chest. "…You need more, huh?" He chuckled quietly. "They were inhabitants of the outskirts of society…quite like me. Both orphans, they had known each other for years, and completely depended on each other. So when one was requested to move here…of course the other followed…"

"Why was one…'requested?'"

"...How do I put this lightly...? Yolanda had…long realized that her granddaughter had…absolutely _no_…talent in culinary arts. So she started searching for a child with…promise." He nodded, "Yes…he's told me the story before. She had been running all over the big city, interviewing children. None had…struck…her. She stopped at a small, crummy restaurant for a quick meal, figuring that it'd be cheap…then she'd catch a not-so-cheap flight home. When she tasted the food…"

I groaned. "Ug, it's Chase, isn't it?"

"I've heard hearsay of her reaction…She practically died with delight…She stood on her chair and sang halleluiah…She cried with joy…She jumped up and exclaimed that she had seen the light…She-"

"And how many of these came from Chase?"

He rose an eyebrow. "Needless to say…she immediately asked for the chef to come out. They sent out some short and squat man…grease stains on his too-small apron…frayed Yankees cap cocked up…huge belly, tiny feet…She studied him for a long time, then said bluntly, 'This is not the chef of this food. Show me the true one.' Ms. Yolanda has always been a good judge of character…So after assuring them that she wasn't an under-cover government official, they brought out a six-year-old Chase Cooke."

"I hate that stupid last name." I muttered under my breath.

"…So that's the story of how he ended up coming here…"

"Wait. You never told me about the second person. His friend."

He sighed. "Yes…Akari."

What was with the sigh? "Ak-kari?"

Wizard nodded. "Slightly…eccentric…girl. Rarely spoke when she wasn't around Chase. She hated being separated from him…That may be because he was her, as she put it, 'Guardian Angel.'

Funny, I find it very hard to imagine Chase as any kind of angel.

"Because of his…snarky attitude and her selective-muteness, they were basically ignored by the general public…"

"These people really aren't growing on me at all."

"They don't like change." He smiled sadly. "Nor the unordinary…The extraordinary are right out. But…to their credit, they tried. But orphan-hood in the big city had…affected…the children. They were very untrusting as well as untrustworthy. They were so used to stealing to live…sharp tongued retorts, and silver-tongued excuses…Akari was only a year younger than him, and she had lost her parents far later than he did. So she wasn't exposed to the horrors as long as he was. She was less abrasive, but still small and quiet, just as antisocial. She always had a worried look to her, too." He smiled at me, "A lot like you when you first moved here."

I'll ignore that comment. "They don't sound very, um, open. How did you manage to work your way into their tight circle of two?"

He had to think about that. "…Well…I don't quite know…Ah!" He snapped his fingers, wincing when he realized how loud that was. "…They used my house to hide, like y-."

"Like me. Yes."

He looked over at me slowly. "Why are you…Never mind."

"Why am I what?" I said briskly, hand mussing up my hair and twirling my cowlick.

"Like…that. You didn't need such an inflection in that question…Your emotions feel so…" He lowered and shook his head slowly, "I haven't experienced enough human contact to name it…Sorry…"

"What's your name?" I blurted.

"What?"

I looked away, cheeks warm but not burning. "It's j-just…I dunno. It's like, since Chase knows your name, it's like he knows you more or something…Um, owns you?"

"…No one owns me. I'm free."

"But…are you really? Constantly hiding in the shadows, unable to show your face for fear of death?" Probably an exaggeration, but I _still_ didn't know the story, so I'm allowed that. "But you're right, that wasn't the right phrase to use."

"And Chase…certainly does not know my name."

"Huh? So your name's not G-Man?"

Wizard blinked at me for a long moment. Then he suddenly chuckled. "You didn't…_honestly _think…that was my name?"

…Well…Uh…"No?"

He calmed down a bit, though still thoroughly amused. "I merely told them the first letter, nothing more. A person of my studies _never _divulges their full name lightly."

"…Oh." So I guess that there's no way that I could ever learn it. Unless… "Is it Gabe?"

"…What?"

"Your name. I'm guessing."

"Oh…no."

"Grey?"

"…"

"Aha! That's it!"

He looked up. "Huh?"

I pointed dramatically. "Your name's Grey!"

"No."

"But…" I whimpered. "Fine! How about Gene?"

"…"

"Gregory!"

"…"

"…Gandhi?"

"…"

"Gandalf! That fits you perfectly!"

"…"

"Gilligan. Like Gill."

"Good Goddess, no."

"Uh…" Gee, they need more names that start with 'G'. As many brain fuses I blew trying to think of more names, I couldn't come up with any more. I slumped. "I g-give up."

"There is one…circumstance under which I can tell you…"

"What??"

"I…I-I mean, we…That is to say, we could…" He coughed lightly. "Never mind. It's too dangerous. You'd probably refuse on the spot if you knew the…implications…"

"Bah." I flopped on my back and pouted at the sky. "Fine. But if you can't tell me your name, then could you at least tell me why I've never seen you in broad daylight?"

"…Well, I can't let anyone see me."

"Old news, buddy. I'm gonna pull an English teacher: Extrapolate."

"Akari…disappeared."

I waited for more. "…That's it?" I finally said, incredulously. "All this time I figured someone was gruesomely murdered or something. Very Stephen King or Hannibal the Cannibal or whatever, you know? Um, she probably just got sick of the island and left."

"When the only form of transportation…that ship captain…was fast asleep and unavailable? And even if she managed to leave…where would she go? Besides…Chase couldn't leave the place where he was assured a job."

"Then maybe the Harvest God took a liking to her and stole her away?" I gave a non-commital shrug, "Gill told me a few legends about fair maidens being whisked away by deities."

"She was only seven or so when she went missing." Ah. Yeah, forgot about that. Not even our god was that freaky. It may have been my imagination, but the ocean waves suddenly got a whole lot taller and stronger, reaching out at us with more success, wetting my feet before I glared up and thought with all my might, _I was just joking! Calm down and go to sleep or whatever all-mighty gods do!_ The ocean shrank back, the Harvest God appeased (or maybe I had just reminded him of his bedtime?).

Wizard leaned forward, settling his elbows on his crossed legs and his head on his folded hands, staring out at the ocean. "…She was just so…happy…"

Ug, there's that stabbing pang again. A hard, painful ache in my chest. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was…

"You feel…jealous…?"

"Kyaa??" I shot up onto my feet. "N-no! Uh-unh! M-me? Hahah, funny."

He reached up and pulled me back down. I not-so-gracefully stumbled down, my legs folded sideways and my face a little too close to Wizard's. "…You don't fool me. I can sense it." And I believed him. It felt like his eyes were practically penetrating into my soul right now, this minute. Scrutinizing what I didn't want him to see.

"Didn't I say to stop reading my mind?" I squirmed my arm out of his grasp and sat back.

"…Yes. However, technically speaking…I wasn't."

"'Technically speaking,'" I muttered under my breath.

"You are…to be quite honest…quite easy to read. You tend to 'wear your heart on your sleeve', if I may."

"You may not."

He bit his lip. "…You have no need to be jealous of Akari-"

"Who said I was jealous?"

"And besides…she is probably already lost."

"…Gee. Lighten up. What really happened to her, anyway?"

Wizard's eyebrows knitted tightly. "I try not to make presumptions…but I am certain that the Witch stole her away."

"Witch?"

"Miss Witch, as she prefers to be called…" Wizard frowned, "And if you ever met her, then you'd know…you'd best do what she prefers."

"Sounds spoiled."

"Certainly not 'spoiled'…'Self-serving', perhaps, or maybe 'arrogant', but that comes from eons of solitude…"

"Why would she take a little kid?"

"I have my…theories…" He turned himself around so that he was facing both me and the inland. "Maybe for experiments? Or perhaps to stir things up, for she did love to mess with people…" I shivered despite myself. Experiments? What was she, a mad scientist? "Or…maybe she simply longed for companionship, and saw something in the little girl…?"

"I'm going to hope for the last one." I said, "But hey, why do the townsfolk all think _you_ did it? And why were they so malignant?"

"The Witch…she has a far better rapport with them. They never liked me…Something about taking up town space with my house that isn't even open to the general public…Just because I have a telescope does _not _mean that my home is a public observatory, something I had to impress on our dear mayor when he was just a child…Ah, sorry," He smiled sheepishly, "It is a…sore spot. Also, while they full well knew that I had magical powers, they merely thought that the Witch was some pretty yet…eccentric girl who lived in the woods…So, Miss Witch told them all that she had seen me do some terrible 'voodoo curse' on the child…turning her into a sort of tormenting demon-ghost. She even used her powers to create poltergeist activity in people's houses, then told them that that was Akari…crying out for help..."

"I'm hating her more and more. And the townspeople believed this?"

He nodded. "As I once heard some child say, they 'swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker.' Except Chase, for his loyalties run strong, and…he knew that I'd never do such a thing, that I wasn't even capable of such…horrors. Sadly, he was the exception to the rule. My immediate banishment was required…When I argued that she had lied, that I was innocent…they…they became violent…"

"Oh no…" I gulped with a dry throat. "What happened?"

Wizard shrugged. "I was able to evade them well enough, though a couple did catch me…" He slid off his black turtleneck, revealing…

"I can't see anything." Of course, I was also leaning back as far as I could. I didn't like how my heart was thudding against my chest.

"…" He reached over and took my hand gently, pulling it over to rest on his left side. A shock went up my hand and thoroughly scrambled my head, but even in that state I could feel the rough, scarred skin. I ran my hand over it quickly (My Goddess, it must have been at least a foot long!) before pulling away again.

He sat there for a moment, as if assessing the situation. Realization probably crossed his face before he quickly pulled his turtleneck back on. "There…is also one on my chest…right where my heart is…Thankfully, it wasn't as deep or messy."

"You c-c-could've died! I'm g-going to kill that…that…that _witch!_" Big words from a flustered scaredy-cat whose heart was currently wrapped tightly around her esophagus, hanging on for dear life and shaking her voice-box violently.

"It was fine…I healed quickly and leaved without even packing…but I did place a charm over my house and all of my precious possessions before leaving. No one could enter except me. After about two weeks, I took Pascal's boat back to the island…and my home."

"And he was fine with it?"

"Well…he didn't quite know that I was aboard…"

Teh. Of course. "I just don't get why that Witch would cause such un-needed harm."

"Whatever her reasons, both Chase and I…we want our old friend back. However, she placed a barrier on the entire Fugue Forest area. Neither I nor my magic can enter, and regular people get lost easily…" He sighed sadly, "Chase once ran in recklessly, disregarding all markers and landmarks. He got hopelessly lost for days…Thank Goddess that he always carries ingredients wherever he goes. He told me that he survived off of carrots, honey, herbs, mushrooms…However, I am working on an extremely potent potion that will…nullify the barrier. Chase is supplying the ingredients, but it requires a lot of them…We've been working for years…"

"I-I'll help you gather ingredients." I assured him, "Remember, I run a farm, so I can grow l-lots of stuff for it. You know…if you want." He smiled appreciatively and thanked me quietly. "…So is that why you couldn't get into the forest when Owen…"

"Yes." His expression quickly darkened as he placed his head in his hands, "I have never felt so helpless in my life."

…………Wha-?…………

"You…were right there…Not yards from me…and I couldn't do any more except one fast stun curse. Strong as it was, it was severely weakened by that barrier…And then the Witch noticed that I was trying to enter, so she strengthened the charm even more…And you were right there…And I could do nothing…" He moaned painfully.

There he was again. The innocent man, his façade fallen, hunched and hidden. I tried to saying something, but…What can you say?

He clenched his jaw and straightened up a bit. "And then I…managed to get my hands on that…slime…And I had never felt such anger." He looked over at me, eyes haunted. "I heard his thoughts when he-…And I could hear yours too, for that matter-…It was unbearable. It took all of my being to cast him back into the forest…where I could not reach him…could not make him pay…"

I held up my hands in a 'whoa!' gesture. "You c-can forget all of that! I'm fine, nothing happened to me! Because you saved me!"

"…Something most certainly happened. True, you were not robbed of your innocence, but you were still…assaulted." He spat out that last word, as if it tasted of garbage. He shot up to his feet and started pacing on the sand. He was silent, but I could hear snatches of his mumbled thoughts. "_-iddle of festiv-…almo- killed…_tied _to a _tree_!…dis-usting…-owlife…_"

I stood up too and walked over to him. "But I'm f-fine. I'm here, I'm safe, because…because Akari isn't the only one with a Guardian Angel."

Wizard stopped pacing, his back to me.

I held my breath.

He slowly turned around. "…Ah…"

I smiled not-so-surely, upturned lips wavering.

"I…" he mumbled, head lowered, "I don't deserve…that title…"

"Don't start that. Where has your self-confidence gone?" I crossed my arms uncomfortably. "Did you leave it on the mainland?"

"That's…That's not it." He started shifting from foot to foot. "I'm unworthy…I haven't saved you…I have the hardest time trying to protect you…"

"Well…you did pretty well this night. From Owen, and when Chase tackled me." Something ticked slightly in my head. "Hey, how did you know that I was in trouble, anyway?"

"Well…I've been keeping tabs ever since I told you goodbye…"

My mouth popped open. "Whaaaat??"

"Yes…I usually used my crystal ball…however, at times you went missing from it completely. Then I had to search for you in broad daylight, which was really risky…Usually you had just entered Fugue Forest, though…"

"B-but-…H-hey-…Ah, excuse m-me-?…You _what_??"

"Hm?" He looked over, scratching his chin, completely unfazed. "What's wrong?"

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "While I'm very grateful and all…" And weirdly enough, it made me feel a little good to know that he cared enough to do this, and even leave his sanctuary in broad daylight (though that one made me a bit angry, too. Don't take such horrible risks!), "…Back where I come from, that's called _stalking_."

"…I prefer to call it 'security'…"

I pursed my lips. This means that he saw _everything_. "Please t-tell me that your crystal ball couldn't penetrate the bathroom…"

He blinked. "…I respected your privacy-"

"Define 'respect.'"

"-I did not allow myself to see into your home, though I did watch what entered and left…"

"Ug." I rubbed away the beginnings of exhaustion from my eyes. Without much thought-process behind it, I walked out into the ocean. It felt really nice to let the warm waves swirl around my ankles…

I didn't hear Wizard come into the surf with me, but I sensed it. I didn't really acknowledge him as I bent over and ran my white fingers through the water.

"I will not apologize…for watching over you, for that kept you marginally safe…However, I'm sorry for…for everything else…"

I sighed. I didn't have to look up to see his brooding expression. "It's f-fine. Just came as a bit of a shock, that's all."

"…It wasn't just the crystal ball that alerted me to your perils…Remember, you disappear from view whenever you enter the forest…"

I looked up. He was gazing down at the ripples of water that choppily glinted with moonlight.

"…I felt your…cries for help, even after you were forced behind the barrier…"

"…"

"It seems that we are…connected…on many levels."

"…?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I let you get too close…to my heart."

I squashed down the warmth that was radiating in me as fast as I could. I straightened up and flicked the salt water from my hands, appearing to be engrossed in the action, all the while keeping a secure sideways glance on him. "Th-that doesn't make much sense."

"…It means that no matter how…hard I try to push you away for your own good…And trust me, I tried…I will be drawn to you, and vividly aware of all your strong emotions. Whether you are far away or right beside me matters not…"

"Any way to, um, cut the connection?" It almost pained me to say that, but something inside me forced me to say it.

"…No."

Somehow, that made me feel both disappointed and elated at the same time. "Oh…Well, that's fine, I guess."

"For a long time, I didn't know what to think of it. But…the problems of tonight have made up my mind. Molly…"

"…?"

"That Owen…Your troubles with him are not over. And I…want to protect you from the future."

The warmth started to break free, little by little. I tried to ignore how it was dusting my cheeks with pink. "How? Some charm or ritual?"

He contemplated this, fingering something in his pocket. "…It's a ritual of sorts…But not magic-based…" I zeroed in on his pocket, wondering what he had hidden there. "It's very…powerful, from what I've heard…Under it, I will even have the ability to tell you my real name…"

I leaned forward slightly, but despite my ravenous curiosity, I yawned. I tried to stifle it, cover it, but it still escaped.

He regarded me quietly and pulled his hand out of his pocket. "Ah…You're tired. It can wait…I'd best get you home…"

I stretched. "Please, I'm fine. I want to know what you're talking about."

"It's…much too soon. I doubt that you'd even agree to it…You need to sleep-"

"R-r-really, *ya~~wn* do I have to kill someone or something? Can I pick who it is? I have a certain red-haired man in mind…"

"…You shouldn't joke. I'd never truly harm another creature, especially in such a…drastic…way. Come, let's get you back home-"

"No, wait. Watch." I splattered ocean water all over my face, immediately waking up. Too bad it worked; I was hoping to simply jump into the deeper water. Now _that _would have woken me up for sure! "Okay. I'm awake, see? What is it you're talking about? What's in your pocket?"

"Molly, you should…" He looked at my determined expression and sighed. "I guess it can't be helped…and I suppose that it'd help both of us fall asleep tonight…I do not believe that I can torture myself any longer…" He reached back into his pocket. When his hand reappeared, I saw something – possibly blue, if the moonlight served me right – in it. I couldn't really tell what it was…It must've been light-weight, because it kept wafting around. It might've floated off if he didn't keep a good grip.

"What is-?"

"Molly…" He took my hand and bent down, not even noticing the shallow waves that swirled around us. "I never thought that I'd find someone like you…After all these years, never has my life been so…wonderful. To put it plainly, I don't want to let you go...ever. So please…will you…?"

**

* * *

**

**Explanation timeeee! Oh, how I both love and abhor explanations! So, let the fun begin! … **

**I looked at the number of chapters I had done, and basically realized that I had gotten nowhere fast. Or slow. Actually, just about the speed limit. Or maybe-**

**Loony: Actually, the speed doesn't matter much. What _does _is the "nowhere" part. She took 9 chapters to do the first part of the story.**

**Me: The first part's done! We shalt now commence phase deux! I've been waiting forever to get here! Let the fun begin!**

**Loony: Yay…fun…**

**Me: See?? Sissy's pumped! You can practically see her glowingly happy smile of happying happiness!! **

**Loony: *frowns pointedly***

**Me: Anyway, questions, comments, random whatevers, I'd really love it if ya hit dat beautiful little button right down there! If you do, you win…a…uh…leprechaun! Your own lil' Lucky, complete with a full wardrobe, so long as you like green! Teh, jist kiddin'. But really, it feels awesome when people review!**

**Loony: Basically, she wants her ego stroked.**

**Me: Yeah basic-…Hey, wha-?? Git! *has a moment of enlightenment, which always happens whenever I remember something important. Like all enlightenment moments, this is rare* Hey, before I chase you away with a bat, tell them the good news! *yes, I have a bat, aka the PunishMent Stick. It's a terrifying weapon. :) ***

**Loony: Yes yes, okay! Ahem…Anyone ever hear of "Odyssey of the Mind"? Well, my team made it to the World's Competition!**

**Me: Isn't it awesome?? So if you go too, look out for the rednecky New Yorkers with the big mechanical camel! Dat be dem! I'm so proud of my little girl! *bear hugs, despite her struggling* Okay, PunishMent Stick time! Muahahaha! **


	10. Meds and Gill

**Oh good God(dess), I finally updated! …What, didja think that that was it? The story was caput? Unh-uh, you're not free yet! ;) I'm not even **_**close **_**to being done with ya!**

**I've never truly had writer's block before this chappie. I actually had to stop b/c of school (meh, regents and finals, what can ya do? I actually did splendid, not counting the Geometry one, which is ironically the only one my family really cares about. And it actually wasn't bad at all. It just wasn't "good enough". As per usual :p ) **

**Sorry if that was too personal for you guys. And actually, I shouldn't have mentioned it at all, cuz Loony's…**

**Loony: *seething so hotly that the sun's running away in fear***

**Me: …easily maddened by that reality. Yeah, go on to the story, she's gonna blow…Run!**

**Loony: *…Yea, I'll leave it to your imagination "0.0" ***

The persistent breeze sifted through the individual strands of my hair, making them float around my head, a brunette crown, gently waving and roiling like a particularly dark wheat field. In fact, I was currently surrounded by a golden version, the real thing. The wheat stalks roiled, the shortest still a good half foot above my head.

I should explain. I'm not usually a big advocate of mass-production, but the town had been suffering a shortage of wheat, so I decided to sow the precious seeds in every available patch of tilled ground. The result was the promise of a necessary staple for my community…and all-day-ers of back-breaking work for me.

I yawned and swiped at my forehead, the fabric of my glove coming away dark with sweat, despite the fact that the sun's heat rays were often blocked out by my crops.

The sun was close to setting. I held up my clenched fist to it, thumb on top, measuring. Each fist between the sun and the land equaled another hour before sunset. My old high school science teacher taught me this little trick in my Freshman year, though I didn't give it much thought at the time. I was a bit more concerned with my art projects and French homework (as much as that helped me. So far, the only good sentence I can still belt out punctually and perfectly was 'Bon pantalon!'…Nice pants.). But now that I was a full-time farmer…Well, I guess that I wish I'd raised my hand a little bit more in that class.

Anyway. I had about half an hour to twilight. Or should I say, _we_.

I heard a rustling behind me as someone stepped through the rustling gold sea.

...

I stared down at him quizzically. His face – highlighted and shadowed with soft moonlight – gazed down at me with a look both sad and hopeful, along with that serene quality that he always seemed to extrude.

I paused, waiting for him to finish his sentence. But there's only so long that a girl can wait. "…W-will I what?"

Wizard lowered his head and ruffled his silver hair, bleached white in the moonlight. "What I…What I meant to say was…will y-"

"Molly!"

Many things happened in that split millisecond following that yell, the main one being my entire body being shot full of electricity and my mouth tasting like cheap metal. Also stuffed in that millisecond was Wizard's disappearance in a quiet _whoosh_, the ocean water crashing into the void he left, and my finally spotting the shadow that called out my name so loudly.

"Molly!" he yelped again, crashing through the water to me. "Why in the world are you standing out here? Sure, the water's nice, but you can still catch pneumonia! I don't want you to die or anything." He wrapped his vest around my shoulders, which were shivering unbeknownst to me until now. I pulled it tight around me, even though – being a vest – it didn't do much good. "Molly? Hey. Are you okay?"

I nodded my head, random salty drops flying off my wet bangs. "I'm fine, Gill, I'm fine…"

"Who was that you were with, Molly?"

"!" I stared at him wide-eyed, taking in his glinting sapphire eyes, his hands on my shoulders, the pucker between his eyebrows that never seemed to truly leave. He looked like a father whose daughter had just come home at…what time is it?…2:53 AM.

I cleared my worried face, donning a skeptical mask. I walked back onto the beach, saturated boots and socks making a strangely appealing _squelch_ with each step. "Who was I with? No one."

"I specifically saw a man. Right there." He pointed down at the exact spot where Wizard had been kneeling a minute before, his eyes sharp diamonds of conviction.

I shook my head in what I hoped was a convincing manner, even adding a small *_snerk_* for good measure. "What? You saw a man? Right there? Hah, that's f-f_-funny_! Maybe you've p-pressed your nose t-to t-too many small-print documents ab-bout legal stuff! Pr-pretty soon you'll n-need 5-inch thick glasses-s! _Snerk_!"

He frowned at me, obviously not buying my act (Hollywood-worthy as it was…*_snerk*_). But before he could chew me out, a certain sound caught both of our attention. It sounded like a jackhammer chipping away at an iceberg. We both stood there, probing the night with our wary eyes.

Pretty soon, the whole island was shaking like the aforementioned jackhammer, only this one was dysfunctional and malfunctioning, shaking left-right-up-down-north-south-east-west-and-all-those-directions-in-between.

"Hey, Gill, is the island on a fault line or something?"

"No, why do you as-" he turned to me and stopped midsentence. "Molly! You're shivering terribly! You make _me _feel cold just looking at you!" My teeth jackhammer-ed some more, clicking like a death rattle. "Ug, come _on_."

As he led me up the path from the beach, he kept on glancing around, further proving to me that I was the suckiest actress on the island. When a bat lit off right in front of us, he gave a start before grasping my hand to pull me along faster.

My eyebrows knitted as he wound his hand around mine, but I remained silent (-ish. Chattering teeth, remember?).

Gill finally released me when he needed to get his jingling keys out of his pocket. As he unlocked his front door, I felt a ticklish sensation, like a daddy-longlegs spider was crawling all over the back of the neck. My skin crawled, more because of that _stupid _comparison than the feeling itself. It was probably just Wizard, doing some magical spying stake-out. Calm down, there is _not _a spider there. It is not there, brandishing its little spider fangies, getting ready to…

I gave a suppressed high-pitched squeak and pushed past Gill before he even took one step.

"What th-"

I giggled sheepishly as I swatted all over my body.

He frowned at me. "…I've learned to not ask when it comes to you."

"Yup!" I swung my arms at my sides like a child, but they froze mid-swing when a long-awaited thought popped up. "Heeeeey…Why'd you bring me to _your _house?"

"For medicine." He stated matter-of-factly, sorting through a cabinet high above his head.

"What, like I don't have any at _my_ house?"

He turned his head to me, eyebrows raised. "_Do _you?"

"….Wipe that smug look off your face, Hamilton."

He turned back around and continued pulling out little containers and tossing them back in. I walked up and looked up at them as he searched. "What's with all the aspirins and ibuprofen and Aleve?"

"Well…I lead a stressful life, what with practically running the town and dealing with a certain farm girl. And a mere hint of Luna's voice is enough to send me for the migraine meds, the _real_ strong stuff."

"Ah…W-wait, Gill." I stopped his arm just as it was pulling out a bright yellow container. "You're not…You're not addict-t-ted, are you?"

He looked at me after a small pause. I waited in fear for the answer. This was serious. Not even Dr. Jin could help him. He'd have to be sent off to some…facility. And as important as this island and it's…inhabitants…meant to me, I'd have to follow. I couldn't just let my friend undergo that alone.

He still wasn't answering. Were my fears true? I looked up at the bottle in his hand, the bright yellow one with the happy-faced sun and rolling green hills and smiling trees, all colored haphazardly as if crayoned by Taylor or Chloe. Geez, what kind of medicine had a label like that? I reached out and turned it to the words…

"GILL!"

He jumped as I ripped it from his grasp. "Good Goddess, Molly! What're you-"

"Are you serious? You mean you…Oh Goddess…" I bit my thumb nail, mind running full-kilt. I started for the door. "I have to tell Dr. Jin."

With a lurch, he grabbed my wrist and pulled my back. I kept tugging away, but unless I bit at him or something, I doubted he'd let go. So I wheeled around and went for the cabinet. "W-what _else _do you ha-v-ve in here, Gill? R-rat poison? Vicadin? Oh Goddess, and I never noticed. I'm h-h-_horrible_. All this time and I-"

"Molly!" He twirled me around and pinned my arms to my sides. "Molly, listen to me. You're over-reacting, you're assuming. Let me expla-"

"_Anti-depressants,_ Gill? Why d-did you n-n-ever tell? Is this why you always w-wear long sleeves? Oh…ohh…" I slumped, head dizzy just from the thought of him cutting himself, letting the blood roll over and thinking he deserved it…

"That stuff's ancient! Really, look at the date it was issued! And it wasn't even mine."

"That's the stupidest lie I've ever heard. You're saying your happy-go-lucky father _needed_ tha-"

"It was after my mom died."

My breath caught. I looked up at his expression, saddened to see that the poker face was firmly set in place. "I…Ohhh…" I shut my mouth before I said anything else stupid.

His lips rolled into a thin line. "…Yeah…Well…I was too young to really…remember her very well. Fuzzy images, warm feelings, some tuneless lullaby…" I saw, his face sadden softly around the edges before he shook it and frowned. "Useless, really."

I lowered my head. "That's…sad."

"It's okay." He shrugged. "Hit dad hard, though."

I looked back up at him, glaring. "What about the aspirins?"

He chuckled, "Oh, while I do use them more than I should, I don't crave the-"

"Then why did you not answer me before?" I leaned in, still staring. He wasn't going to get a lie past me.

"Well…" His face flushed. Haha! He was sweating in the hot seat, he would _not _worm out of this. "You see…it was a lot like now…I couldn't quite find my tongue…"

Huh? What kind of answer was that, it made no sense. Unless…

It suddenly did make sense. I stiffened when I realized he still hadn't let go of my arms, and was running them up to my face. A little too late, I finally realized just how close I'd leaned in.

I raised my hand at the last second, gently pushing him away. "Gill…no."

He blinked. "…Oh." I felt horrible as his face went white, then suddenly as red as his beloved tomatoes. How could I explain to him that my heart was already in the hands of another? Already sold to a man he had probably feared as a child, and fervently hated now. "I see. Yeah. Okay." He twiddled with his cowlick, his rouge color not fading in the least.

As if timed, a green bottle fell from the open doors of the cabinet, rolling theatrically 'til it settled right between us.

I bent down and picked it up, rolling it in my hands to find the label. "Heh heh…Found it." I held it out to show him, a huge fake grin plastered on my face as if I was hawking the item on a commercial. He just nodded at the floor. "Okay…Well, I'll just take one. My immune system's pretty top-notch, but just to be safe…" I worked at the top, doing exactly what it said to do. Press down, turn counter-clockwise…Okaaay, press down, turn counter-clockwise…Grrrrrr…Press! Down! Turn! Counter! Clockwise! "Arrggh!" Gill calmly walked over (his ruddy face hardly detracted from his professional ability to "be cool") and took it from me.

He popped it open with one swift move.

I just stared at it. "…I…h-_hate _that thing. Thanks." I swallowed the pill he handed to me, not bothering to get water. "Thanks Gill. See you!" I got ready to sprint out of the tense house, but paused when I felt his downcast aura. My maternal instinct instantly pushed me over to hug him tight, if quick. "Sorry." I mumbled, pushing his vest into his hands before jumping away and out in two bounds.

I reached up into my hair, sorting through until I found my still-unconscious baby. "Ohh, Finnie." I murmured, pulling him out and hugging him close. "Wish you were awake right now. I need you." My eyes welled up when I saw his condition. Wizard had fixed him up, but he couldn't erase the defeated feeling emanating from the tiny body. "Too much has happened tonight. Let's go home, Finn. I think I hear my bed calling to us, it sounds worried. Let's go alleviate its fears."

I was glad – _relieved_, morelike – to find my walk refreshingly uneventful. But was I rid of the storm, or merely floating within its eye?

**This one's pretty short by my standards, but that's just because I'm getting back in the groove. It feels weird to put on such a small chapter, though! It's the shortest one I've _ever _done, and that makes me feel...short, ironically. **

**I've stared at this for at least a week, trying to pull something out of my head in irritating vain. The magic was…gone. Then suddenly, last night, outta the blue, when I was half asleep, I started typing. I basically wrote 4/5 of this last night and a lot of hours re-re-re-re-re-reading it this morning. It's what usually happens, actually. Hey, anything to hit those keys with zeal! And usually, whatever happened lately to me tends to get into the story (know the Gill thing? I just saw some ad or news on drug abuse before I went nighty-night). **

**Gee, I haven't been at this in a while. So I worriedly showed the chapter to Loony when I finished, just like before. She read it quietly with me reading over her shoulder, trying to see how she'd react and positively shaking with suspense. Then she calmly set the laptop down and started walking away. **

"**Well…?" I warbled, muscles tense.**

**She looked over her shoulder all cool and spy-like. "It's good."**

…**..YESSS! I got her approval! Woooo-hoooo! Epicness! I. Am. Back! **

…**Scared yet? **

**Read n Review! Oh, those beloved R's! **


	11. This Moment

**Whee, so glad to hear from you guys! I even got a glomp! (thnx Coconut123 :-)) I really missed this site.**

**Hummph, when I looked back just now, I realized that I really whined a lot. But now that I know where I am, there will be minimal moaning, so don't worry about having to deal with it again! I will behave.**

**(Grrr, how come the site won't let me put up a line like before? How annoying and petty! I always knew it was out to get me!) **

**(Ahh, here's one that works:)**

***0.0***

I was walking down the very empty street, surroundings dim with the pressing darkness. It was quiet. It was cloudy. Not exactly a "dark and stormy night" on the surface, but the tension roiled under the façade, silently following me like a shadow. My heart thudded louder every time I acknowledged the growing unrest.

I quickened my pace.

Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared before me and screeched out, yelling words that fell on my ear but did not meld into language, at least none that I'd ever heard of. I cried out and hurried backwards, intending on gradually turning so that I could run flat out from this strange being, for it could not be human. But after only two back steps, my searching foot suddenly flailed, finding not cobblestone but…emptiness.

And I fell.

I can not say how long I fell, only that it was both hours and split-second. I could sense nothing. I didn't see the night sky that should be above me. I felt no rush of air. I did not even hear my own scream.

It was as if I had been swallowed by the Earth itself. Except that I smelled no soil either.

Then there was light. Bright, blinding light that bleached everything it contacted.

Shapes swirled in it, swirls and colors and…faces. I squinted at these last ones, afraid, but I felt that these I must see. At first, I could hardly make out features, then expressions and minute details became clear. I saw smiles, laughter, bright cheeks that could only belong to children.

Then suddenly confusion. Fear. Anger.

The very last one snatched my heartbeats from me:

Hopelessness.

Was this the past? The present?

…The future?

I awoke crying.

...

When I opened my eyes, they were unfocused with sleep and blurry with tears. But as soon as I wiped both from them, my surroundings became clear and I relaxed, sinking into my pillow. I was just in my room. My nice, normal, homey home. Memories of the night before started trickling back, taking their sweet time. Didn't do too good for my mood when they reasserted themselves in my mind.

…Was it possible to go through all that drama in one night? If I didn't experience it myself, I wouldn't have believed so.

"Hmmg-g-g-g-g…" I heard a tiny throaty grumble in my ear. I tilted my head to the right to see a blurry orange blob in the corner of my vision. He wasn't awake yet, but it was obvious that that wouldn't be for long. So I forced myself up and yanked open the fridge. When I realized that I had no more of what I was looking for, I ran out to the coop.

Finn was rubbing his tiny eyes when I returned. "Whaa-" he mumbled. "Wha hap'ned?" He squinted over at me as I pulled open my drawers. "Wha're you..doin'?"

I quickly changed into my blue work clothes, grabbed my money and picked him up, cradling him in the crook of my arm. "Well, I was going to cook an omelet for us, but since my fridge's basically barren and I didn't let the animals in last night, it looks like we're eating out! What do you want before I go to the Inn and sound crazy, asking the thin air what it wants?"

He stuck his pink tongue out and gagged. "No food, please. I feel horrible, I'll just…what is it you call it?"

"…Barf?"

He nodded miserably as his stomach growled, obviously at ends with itself.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. "You were very heroic last night, Finn. I'm very glad that you found me."

He considered this, then crawled up my arm so he could gloat higher. Already tired from just that, he slumped against my neck. "I _was_ pretty cool, wasn't I?"

"The coolest." I smiled as I walked across the bridge.

The morning was relatively chilly, but I knew what an oven it could become in just a few short hours. That's why I usually did my chores in this wonderful frame of time. And when I finally remembered that the Inn didn't open for a few more hours, I realized that that was exactly what I should've done.

I crept around the streets, feeling a faraway sense of déjà vu. Suddenly, I remembered my nightmare, bits and pieces. Walking down a quiet street – this exact one, actually – some…monster. Was it speaking Latin? I wasn't sure. Falling…Darkness…Blindness…Emotions…Expressions…

What were those faces trying to say? Who did they belong to? I remember recognition while I stared…

I racked my brain, but came up with only a thoroughly scrambled mind.

Finn tapped my ear lobe. "Molly. Hey, Molly. Hey, space cadet, wake up. There's someone behind you."

"Huh?" I turned around. "Oh! Um, hi."

"Good morning, Starshine, the earth says hellooooo." he said in a voice that can only be construed as mocking. I nodded and twirled back around. "Hey! Where're you going?"

"W-well, I figured that since we had exchanged the mandatory pleasantries, I could leave."

He blinked at me, violet eyes wide. "No…freaking way." He snorted, then started out-right laughing. "You sound…ju_-_just_…_like_…him!_ Hahahahahahahaha!"

I frowned. "Who, Chase?" I already knew the answer.

He kneaded his stomach. "Hahahaha…I haven't laughed that hard in forever…and, you know, G-man. Thought you'd know that, Starshine."

I nodded and started walking away again, sorry to hear his sandals slapping next to mine. "Quit calling me 'Starshine'. It's stupid."

"It's completely true. Fits you perfectly. When G-man even hears your name, his eyes light up even more than when he's watching the skies. I should know, I grew up with the guy after all..."

"Oh, really." Crap, here comes the blush. Why can I not act? "And how do you know that?"

He stretched and yawned. "Nyah, not awake yet. H'num…Well, I mentioned you in passing at some point, and he started looking around eagerly…as eager as that guy can look, that is. So then I started adding in your name at random times while I talked. Stuff like, 'Do you want me to _Molly_ get you some new books, because it has got to get boring after _Molly_ reading all those you already have over and over and _Molly _and over.'" He chuckled, then frowned, "When he finally figured out I was yanking his braid, he calmly asked me to stop. No fun, that guy, no fun at all." I shook my head and started power walking. Too bad his legs were a mile long. And just as I was starting to think he was getting the message, my stomach hissed out in protest at the same time as Finn's screamed. Chase rose an eyebrow. "Hungry much?"

I shrugged. Finn was practically bouncing up and down with his nod.

He tugged twice at my shirt sleeve and walked over to the Ocarina Inn. "Hey," I said, "That doesn't open until…" He pulled out a ring of three keys and, selecting the silvery one, opened it up. He gestured inside and bowed. I didn't give him the satisfaction of retorting, I wasn't even going to go inside. But Finn saw the possibility of breakfast and took off, landing with a thud at Chase's feet.

He blinked and stared right at the sprite, a shadow of curiosity on his face, but shook his head and righted himself. "Suit yourself. If you want some food, feel free to come in."

I waited until he was in the kitchen before rushing over and picking up Finn. "Don't do that again." I whispered, depositing him back onto my shoulder.

Chase didn't even look up when I sat at the table nearest the kitchen. "So, I was thinking…" he started, whisking eggs in a big yellow bowl as he walked over, "About that friend of ours, maybe we could work together to help him with the potion-"

"Maya!" I waved at the pajama-clad girl before Chase could say anything else damaging. "Good morning!" She regarded us, obviously thinking. I remembered how Kathy had lied to her last night, saying that I was after Chase. It saddened me to see that she had even taken her words into consideration. As if it would help things, I scooted ever-so-slightly away from him in my chair. "Still not awake?"

She shook her head and plopped down across from me, rubbing her eyes with both fists like a child. "Noooo, I had a very scary nightmare...Chaaaase I'm hungry!"

"When are you not?" he muttered, pouring some of the eggs onto the frying pan.

She pouted. I used to think that that face was annoying on her, but now it seemed pretty cute. I didn't know why Chase was so cold. Hoping that she was too groggy to have heard him, I gently asked what her nightmare was about. "Oh it was absolutely terrifying (!) for one thing the only food left in the world was this gigantic thing that I've heard about something like a "deburgy" or "hambag" or "humburger" but anyway it was very scary and then I just hid from it for most of the dream but suddenly I got so hungry that I couldn't run anymore so I ripped a piece off of it and it "rawr"-ed did I mention it was huge (?) so anyway I ate that piece and it tasted both delicious and nasty at the same time but suddenly something told me that it was made of my Moo-Moo you know that cow at Renee's farm well she's not actually mine but still Renee said that I could visit her whenever I wanted and I thinks she loves me but Mum says I can't keep her in my room no matter how much I promise to take her out for potty walks but anyway I was EATING HER in the nightmare so now I'm scared and what should I do?"

"Ah…Um…"

"Breakfast!" Chase briskly came to the table, setting down two omelets before leaning against the counter with his own. Finn fluttered down to my plate and started pulling off huge chunks, obviously too hungry and sick to be discreet. I poked him with my pinky when I cut off my first bite, and he pouted up at me. "But I'm _hungry_…"

"Hey, Molly, you know that one friend?" Chase started, cutting up his food into perfect cubes. I stared at him, begging him to stop talking before Maya became suspicious. But he plowed on. "He's leaving on a trip soon. Tonight, actually."

My annoyance was quickly replaced with horror for one second before I managed to mask it. I didn't want Maya asking questions, and no matter how horribly that information ate at my heart and mind, I couldn't let it affect my behavior and expressions. So I tried my best to lock away that thought, struggling to hold it back. It was like trying to shove a vicious lion into a doggy carrier. What would possess that ingrate to drop the bomb _now?_

Realizing his mistake, Chase decided to direct Maya's attention to something else. "Nice pink pajamas, Maya. I'm very jealous."

She seemed to instantly forget our "friend", looking over at the cook, hurt. I intervened, glaring at him and trying to convey some message like '_Really? That was the first distraction that came to your orange-filled head?_' with a little less venom than he deserved. "I'm jealous, too." I smiled at her. "I mean, they're absolutely adorable! You say you doodled all those designs onto it?" I took another bite of omelet, grudgingly thinking it was delicious.

She grinned, chest puffing up with pride and her next monologue. But before she could start, her parents and grandmother came in, fully dressed. "Dearie, I want some eggs too. Could you make mine with some broccoli and cheese?" Yolanda walked by, patting Chase before walking over to start getting things ready for business. "We've missed having you working here, but it's good that you're helping out Haydon." Her son and daughter-in-law nodded and went off to start setting up shop as well.

Chase smiled and went to cook three more omelets. There was something foreign in his face. Maybe it was contentment, maybe even happiness. Whatever it was, it leeched the mean-ness from his expression, and I couldn't tell if that gladdened or scared me.

Was Wizard really leaving? To where? For how long? For forever? I couldn't imagine the island without him. He didn't think he was protecting me again, was he? That crazy notion had completely backfired on both of us. I didn't want to lose him again, I couldn't bear it. I realized that my complete horror was starting to transform my face again, and that anyone who decided to look would see that I was ready to die. So I anxiously stowed the lion away again and manufactured a smile.

I looked down to see that my plate was almost completely empty. I had only taken a few bites, maybe eaten a third of it. I looked over to see Finn rushing to the closest garbage can.

Good thing I'm the only one who can hear him. His dramatic succumbing severely destroyed any appetite I had.

Just as the Inn officially opened, several people rushed in and plagued Chase and Yolanda. I saw Toby with his uncle and cousin, handing Yolanda some fish to grill and complaining that they didn't open early enough, that it'd be much more convenient if it was at least two or three hours earlier. That explorer who helped me rejuvenate the Yellow Bell was simultaneously ordering breakfast for himself and his fiancée – Phoebe, I think – and asking if Chase knew anything about some moldy old treasure map that he kept shoving in the cook's face. By the look on his face, I had an idea of what Chase was going to do to the poor couple if they didn't back off, and _quick_.

That's when a pair of hands came down hard on my shoulders.

"AAAH!" I whirled around in my seat. "Julius! Don't _do_ that!"

He laughed, the sound jolly tolling bells. "Couldn't help myself, Darlin'!" He plopped down in a seat, pulling Candace down next to him. She blushed, shot a sideways glance at Maya beside her, then trained her eyes on the table. I didn't think it was my imagination that there was something new in her face. "Candy and I decided to come in and get some French toast! Would you be a dear and tell your grandmother? Oh, how I do love her food!"

Maya got up slowly and walked over to the kitchen. I hoped that her destination was to tell Yolanda, not make it herself. The same thought seemed to occur to Julius, because he suddenly got up and went to be clear on who the cook would be.

"Hey, Candace…what's going on between you and Julius?" She instantly blushed and stared at her wringing hands. I felt bad for making her uncomfortable, but I just simply didn't feel like mincing words today. She whispered something under her breath. "…Huh?" I breathed, leaning towards her.

"I'll…I'll t-tell you l-lat-t-t-ter…"

"Ah." I sat back and grinned. While her voice was scared and hushed as usual, it was happy. That meant good news, which was…good, I suppose.

That was when Julius came back, so I immediately shut my mouth and opened my ears, because he obviously had a lot pressing at his voice box.

It was only much later that me and Candace escaped the Inn and Julius. As we came to the Tailor Shop, woman's intuition told me to go in before them. Candace soon followed, eyes bright under her blue bangs. I immediately started the interrogation, grabbing her hands. "Spill! Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me!"

She shook, and I didn't know if it was anxiety or joy. Probably anxiety. "I-I…He…W-well, at the f-f-fest-tival…He asked m-me t-to g-g-g-go stead-dy…"

I jumped up and down, heart in throat with elation. No matter what crap happened to me, I was still a normal young woman and my quiet BFF just said that she snagged a guy! Wrapping her up in a big hug, I barely suppressed a squeal as I continued bouncing. Who wouldn't be happy for her? She was glowing, a subtle sparkle that hovered all around her! Go Candace!

Luna grumbled behind the counter, a look of utter distaste tugging at her mouth. "_Great_, does this mean I'm gonna have to endure his face more than usual?"

"You're a lot like him, more than you'd care to acknowledge, I figure." I retorted quietly. Candy giggled, but thankfully Luna remained obtuse.

"I mean, next thing you know he's gonna be handing you a _blue feather_. YUCK!"

I froze, remembering something from last night. "Wait. What exactly is a blue feather?"

"Well, usually it's this soft, ticklish thing, hopefully blue since it's a blue feather from a blue bird, so any other color is just stup-"

"Yes, yes, I know what it is!" She gave me a 'you asked' face and shrugged. "But why do you hate the fact that Julius might give Candy one?"

"You mean besides the fact that he'd probably pretty it up with some overly-romantic stuff like a rose and ribbon and hearts? The implications."

"…Implications?"

I heard a small cough behind me. "Um…" Candace played with her hands, hunched over. "It's…Th-that is, i-it's a mmm-marriage proposal."

I stopped breathing, head feeling so high above the clouds that it hurt. Almost mechanically, I sat on the display of work shirts behind me. I vaguely heard Luna's protests and felt Candace's reassuring hand on my forehead, but all I could do was hold my head and try to slow my heart, which was beating harder than a prized thoroughbred's after the Kentucky Derby.

That floaty thing Wizard had, was that a blue feather? Did that mean he…no. It had to be something else. I sifted through my sleep-hazy memories, finally paying attention to details.

He said that it was connected to a powerful ritual…that wasn't magical.

He said he "never wanted to let" me "go". That he wanted to "protect" me.

Good Goddess, he even got down on one knee.

...

How could I be so stupid?

I suddenly jerked back up to my feet. "Oh Goddess, s-sorry! I have t-to go!"

"B-b-but…"

"Hey, I'm not done with you, Missy!"

"I h-have to go now! Bye, goodbye, sorry!"

I sprinted up the streets, boots slapping cobbles without inhibitions. I didn't slow even when I reached his house, I reached out and twisted the knob in one fluid-ish motion, stumbling inside.

He was waiting for me just inside the door, worry pushing his white eyebrows close. "Miss Molly…?…Are you alright…?"

I stood there, eyes watery and chest heaving from confusing emotions and exertion. But I couldn't stand still for long, it was simply impossible for me with him so close, getting ready to leave me for Goddess-knew how long. So I rushed into his outstretched arms and held him as close as I could, burrowing my head into his chest and giving a sigh of relief when I was sure that he was still here, still able to wrap his arms around me, still able to run his lithe fingers through my hair.

This moment was all I needed to satisfy me for the rest of my life.

***-.-***

**Sigh...**

**Loony's not here! She's off at camp. I don't miss her _yet_, but I know I will sometime. Always do. It's so wonderfully quiet now, and now I can actually sing and hum around the house without her telling me to shut up. But then again, the night before she left, there was a really vocal thunder storm, and she crawled into my bed to huddle and cuddle. She's so cute when she's scared and/or half-asleep. That I do miss… :/ And when we dropped her off, I expected that they'd be in these beaten up cabins that are little more than graffiti-ed wood and bunk-beds and thin mattresses like before! But no, they just built these buildings that resemble tricked-out dorms! They even had a shower in each room.**

**I tell you, we're spoiling our kids. **

**On a different note…Arrgh! Doncha hate having to wait a whole week for each episode of your favorite shows? It sucks! But I'll get to watch Huge tomorrow, so for a short time I don't mind the wait. What shows do you have to endure waiting for? Clickety-click the button and do tell. Review too if you feel like it, I'm just satisfied that people read this :3**

**I'll post the very next chapter tomorrow or the day after, I've already written it but I want to make sure it's absolutely perfect, since Loony isn't here to dissect it for me. It's really really short (no, really really _really _short), but I think it's my favorite so far.**

**Haffa nawce dae! :D **


	12. I Promise

**Before we get started, ahem..._Who the heck is MARY SUE? ? ?_**

**I was going to hold off for a couple of days with this chapter, to at least let _some_ suspense build up. But then I thought it was stupid to wait, so here we are. Hopefully, I did things right this time. Enjoy it, hate it, I don't care (that's a blatant lie), just read it!**

* * *

Wizard rocked us back and forth, his forehead on the top of my head, his arms holding me tightly as if afraid I'd slip away. He didn't have to worry - I wasn't going anywhere. I could have stayed there for forever and a minute, reality permit.

But of course, it didn't.

Wizard slowly pulled away ever-so-slightly to look down at me. "I was…so afraid that you wouldn't…"

"W-why are you leaving?"

He remained silent for a moment, slowly pulling me to the right of the door. "Chase…"

A second later, the cook walked in. He closed the door half-way before noticing what he was seeing in his peripheral vision. "Um…You guys want a minute or something? 'Cuz we really don't have a minute to spare."

Wizard sighed and extricated himself from me to walk over to a cauldron he had set up in the corner. "You're…right." he murmured sadly at the same time I hissed "_Close the dumb door! Someone'll see!_"

He sighed and closed it all the way, rolling his eyes. "Sorry, _Starshine_."

"I told you to st-stop c-calling m-."

"Right, sure thing, Starshine."

"Stop now…" Wizard admonished quietly, looking over a few random items on his divination table.

"Ooh, there's another perk, Starshine! When the little magical kiddies get rowdy, he's sure to be able to put them to bed. Or in time-out. Probably not, he looks like the kind of father who'd spank them, wouldn't you agr-"

"Enough," we both said at the same time, though our inflections were completely different. He sounded patient, as if talking to a child, while mine was completely and utterly embarrassed. What if they figured out that I'd already dreamed of "little magical kiddies"? I'd dreamed of motherhood my whole life – It was completely in my nature, something I knew I couldn't repress even if I wanted to, which I knew I never would. My arms instinctually yearned to hold a child, my child, as it went through all forms from my swollen stomach to a hungry infant to a screaming toddler to a hyper tween to a sullen teenager, all the way up to his or her wedding day and beyond. And when I started to fall in love with Wizard, these children suddenly grew white hair and darker complexions. When they blinked up at me, I saw emerald-green eyes, golden irises.

And that made me love them even more.

Were these phantom children being erased even as I stood here daydreaming of them? I shook my head and returned to the present, to my reality. "You never answered me. _Why are you leaving_?"

The two men were plotting something, leaning over the table. They both looked up at me when I spoke. "There's this _thing_ – a few, actually – somewhere that we need for the potion. We won't get it here, it doesn't grow in this part of the worlds. So pretty soon he'll be able to go through the portal and end up close to an area where he might find them. He has a whole month to search, then the rips in reality will realign just right again for him to come back, ingredients or not."

…'Worlds?'…'Rips in reality?'…'Portals?' "_What_?"

"Yeah, I never really understood it myself, and he's been trying to explain it to me for years. Apparently, there are several worlds that exist on this planet." Chase shrugged nonchalantly, as if that notion _wasn't_ groundbreaking.

I swayed in confusion and wonder. Wow, other worlds. Don't that just beat all? If I didn't completely know and trust Wizard, I'd think he was playing some elaborate prank. "Why does he have to come back in one month?" _Not that that wasn't too short or anything, the mere thought of it crushed me. _"Why can't he wait another month to come back if he doesn't find the ingredients in time?"

"Because…the next time the portal opens…it'd be centuries later." Wizard rolled up something that looked very map-ish and tucked it into a small backpack. "It's almost time…" He shrugged off his huge purple cloak, revealing his different clothes. The black turtleneck remained, as did the chain necklaces and belt. But he'd changed into plain white jeans and black sneakers. He looked…less eccentric.

It suddenly completely hit me, that he was leaving to a world that might never give him back. This wave of fresh horror spawned paranoia. Would I never see him again? What if he forgot me? What if he didn't want to leave once he entered the other world? Without much thought, I fumbled at a latch on the back of my neck, finally pulling off a necklace that I almost always wore. "Here!" I shoved it at him. "P-please, take this. It'd make me feel better, please…"

He picked it up out of my palm and gazed at it for a moment. "A…sakura sea shell…"

"With a pearl glued inside. Y-yeah, I made it a long time ago. It's pretty bad, actually, I'm surprised it's still all together…"

He smiled, eyes deep. "It's beautiful…" He fastened it around his neck. "I…will never take it off…"

Chase gagged. He looked like he wanted to snark-off again, but had just enough decency to suppress it. He climbed up the ladder to wait us out.

I paused, waiting to feel peace. It evaded me. "…D-darn it. I hoped that'd help me deal with this."

He held out his hand for mine, holding it up to his face and closing his eyes. "It is no easier for me…" He sighed, breath warm and moist on my fingers. "I promise you…that I will return to you…" His eyes looked up at me. "Does that help…?"

… "I'd…I'd like to say yes. But no, not enough." I lowered my head. "I _don't want you to go_," I voiced my most prominent worry. A couple of tears started to wet my lashes, making my lids heavy.

He stayed quiet, still holding my hand, now pressing it to his hot cheek. "I'd like you to promise me something, too…" My heart started up again hopefully, sensing where this was heading. I hoped with everything I had that it was right. "…You must promise me…that the night I return…you will…marry…me…?" When I didn't answer, he instantly lost his calm façade. "I…I'm sorry, maybe it's still too soon…Sorry…I don't want to pressure you…I'm sorr-"

"You're dissolving!"

Chase looked over the banister. "He's just going through the portal. Wrap up the chick flick real quick, Starshine."

But I couldn't rip my eyes from Wizard's body. It was as if an invisible acid was eating him away. And as it ate, it became hungrier, its appetite more voracious. When I finally realized that I was wasting time gaping like that, I only had approximately ten seconds left. My parting words came rushed and hushed.

"Please come back, you promised. I love you, Wizard. I promise too. Please be safe."

And I kissed him seconds before his lips disappeared, feeling the softness of a feather materialize in my hand the second he left, taking my whole world into another.

* * *

**Hahhh, that was refreshing. n.n**

**Okay, I have a question for you guys. Do you want me to write about Wizard's adventure's every once in a while, or just stay with our pining heroine? To have scenes of the other world would give the story more variety, but it also _might_ make me take about a chapter more to reunite them. It's ultimately my call I suppose, since I'm writing it, but I want your opinions to help me make my decision. Think of it this way, give me an opinion or suggestion and I won't take up forever simply debating this tiny crossroad and not even writing a sentence. That's not a threat, sadly, it's the absolute truth. The truth sucks sometimes, if not always.**

**If you don't review I will be very sad and cry in a corner (_now_ I'm threatening;))**

**"Breaking News!" ... I might not be able to update for a while. We're going to a bi-yearly family reunion on my paternal side up in Frankfurt. We're a freakishly tight-knit family. I'll probably gain ten million pounds while up there, they LOVE to cook mounds of food and they HATE to have to go home with even a crumb left over (But the summer gathering is at least better than the Thanksgiving one. Oi vay, don't get me _started_ on that!). So I'll see ya...Monday at the earliest. **

**Lotsa luv and pie! ...Bye!**


	13. This is The Other Side

**...Oh. Now don't I feel stupid. So Mary Sue's a 'what', not a 'who'. How in the world did that type of character get a name like 'Mary Sue'? Random much? Ah, and thank you all for reviews and answering my stupid questions and giving advice. T'was muchly appreciated!**

**Awww! I just got the worst news that a lazy high schooler can get! ...Evidently, summer vaca officially ends for me on August 16.**

**Loony: AHHH!…Hey, wait a sec. That's impossible, school doesn't start that early! Don't scare me like that!**

**Me: Didn't you hear 'for me'? sigh…it's when Cross-Country starts. I'm very out of shape. Pray for me.**

**Loony: Will do, and I'll laugh all through it, picturing your face as you meet reality!**

**Me: …Love you too, buttface. :p**

* * *

The following silence felt like an eternity. It seemed that seconds took forever to become minutes, as if mocking my melancholy, trying to drag out my pain.

How long would it take these long minutes to meld into a month?

Chase slid down the ladder and walked over. "Goddess, I've never seen a more dramatic goodbye in my life, and I've seen my fair share of chick flicks. Maya's obsessed with them, always chains me to a chair before turning one on…Hey. Hey, are you crying?"

I didn't even notice the hot pearls rolling down my cheeks, but once I did they doubled in magnitude. I crumbled.

"Good Goddess! What is _wrong _with you? I mean, I've heard of women crying when they get proposed to, but they're usually grinning and nodding and jabbering about telling Mom, that kind of thing. Not _having a meltdown_!" He raked a hand through his strawberry-blonde hair, obviously out of his element. "Look, if this is about him leaving, he'll be fine. This is G-man we're talking about, he'll be more than fine, he'll arrive victorious and then you two will marry and have a bunch of little magical kiddies full of magical snot and magical kiddie grime, little magical walking Petri dishes. And then, you know, maybe you could save Akari for me while you're at it so I can have my happy ending too and _will you stop crying? I hate it when women cry!_"

I sniffled miserably, completely ignoring his half-hearted comforts. It felt like my heart was breaking, shattering like discarded glass. It hurt too much. Maybe it was literally breaking. I couldn't tell the difference. I almost calmed down enough to manage out a 'sorry', but just as I uttered one syllable, the tears clenched my throat together and I cried even harder.

Chase grumbled in annoyance and pulled me to Wizard's bed. "Lie down until you're sober. Here," he tossed something huge at me, "Hug this as you lie there. Heck, keep it until he comes back – _which he will_ – he wouldn't mind. Probably would make him even more lovey-dovey…_Gah_."

I kneaded the soft, heavy fabric, unable at first to tell what it was through my tears. It felt familiar, and heart-breakingly so. I shoved my face into Wizard's purple-blue cloak, feeling the body heat that still permeated the fibers, breathing in the dusky smell that came with it. The flow of salt-water on my cheeks started to slow at the scent of him, and I started to relax, one muscle per breath.

Chase sat down next to my feet, awkwardly patting my boot. "Uh…there, there…?"

I sighed, a tired damsel in distress. But my knight in shining armor wasn't here – His comic-relief sidekick was.

"You really don't need to cry. Wizard's the most collected guy I've ever seen. The chance of him being stuck in the other world are slim-to-none."

"But there's a ch-chance."

"True." I winced at his painful honesty. "But now he's got even more incentive to return, so he'll be even more careful than usual. Can't just leave his Starshine here, now can he?" He leaned back and accidently thumped his head on the wall. "…Uh, ouch…Well, looks like you managed what I used to think impossible. You snagged G-man's heart. I can't believe that you're going to get married in a month. Can I make the cake?"

"Quit p-poking fun at me, I'm in-n-no mood." I grumbled, finally calm and semi-collected. I glared at him.

"I'm not poking fun." He shrugged, "Actually, I doubt that I'd be there. He's pretty secretive, and, you know, the whole town hates him. So it'd just be you two lovebirds in the dark, empty church." He paused, as if contemplating something. "Does that sadden you? To not have a big white wedding with the whole island stuffed into one little church to watch as you profess your sickness-and-health-enduring love? To not have the chance to cut the first slice of white cake and shove it in each others faces?"

"That…that doesn't matter. I think it's good to be private and-"

"Because heads would roll otherwise."

"Well, yes, but still. This is something between him and I, not the island's entire population, and not you."

I expected him to bite back. My words sounded harsher than I intended, but he had struck a chord. How _did _I feel about missing out on a normal marriage? I was going to see several examples of what I was losing pretty soon – Calvin and Phoebe's was less than two weeks from now, and Jin and Anissa had just announced their engagement only days ago. Plus, I had recently overheard Luke jabbering about his big adventure, the lengths he went to to get a blue feather (I thought that swimming out to Toucan Island and back was stretching it a little, but that's just Luke), so I guessed that he was going to present it any second now, patience not being his style. And of course, there was Julius and Candace's relationship to think about. Chase rose his eyebrows. "Touché. But I have an even bigger question for you: What are you going to do when you're preggers?"

I sat up abruptly, cloak falling off me with rustled protest. "_Excuse me?_"

He stood up and held up his hands half-heartedly. "Hey, I'm just being realistic, don't kill me. I was just wondering because you seem to stupidly care about what others think of you, and tongues will most certainly wag when you announce that you're with child. An _illegitimate_ child."

I hadn't thought about that. But wait, "It _won't_ be illegitimate, though."

"To you and me and Wizard, yes. But what about the rest of the people here?"

"…I don't want to think about this right now. Besides, my mother had a very hard time having me. It might take me forever, maybe never." The most hurtful truth I've ever had to utter.

Chase slapped his hands against his apron, dusting it off though there was no dust to be dusted. "Okay, I'm starting to get grossed out by this conversation. Let's discuss something much more important and much less weird." He picked up a piece of worn brown parchment from the divination table and displayed it to me. "We actually just found this a year ago, and since I'm really the only one who can make most of this stuff or go out to get it, it's been slow going. So now it's time you made yourself useful." It looked so normal from afar, but up close I could see the foreign alphabet playing across the parchment, the strange swirly symbols and jagged lines that flowed around rough sketches of different items. It was obviously a recipe for magic.

Chase started to point out different sketches, explaining which ones they had already gathered, which ones we needed, some that we needed to wait seasons for like "a green bell and snowflake flower that grew so close together that their roots tangled together," which required winter. There was also less complicated stuff, like a spoonful of honey. Then nasty stuff like a house fly. Ug.

Chase pointed to, "Grape candy. I'm going to make that today, and you're going to go mining for…rare metal. Notice 'metal', not 'ore'. You're going to have to smash a _lot_ of rocks for some time before you find one pure enough. And an opal would be helpful, too."

"Um, roger that." I sat back down on the bed and covered my head with the cloak.

"Hey, get back up!" He yanked at the fabric, but I clung tight. Months of grabbling with reluctant farm animals had made my hands into claws of steel. "I'm serious!"

"I am too." I was very serious when it came to my health. The mines were Owen's web, and this particular fly would avoid it at all costs.

"I find that _very _hard to believe." he spat venomously.

"I absolutely and utterly refuse to go to the mines. If you force me to, I will feed your precious apron to my goat. She loves shredded fabric with whipped cream and a soda can on top."

He huffed and puffed, but finally dropped it and went back to the recipe. "_Fine_. Go get a horse mackerel instead, I have to pickle its fins."

I wrinkled my nose. "Eww, now that sounds like a _real_ witch's brew."

"Yeah, well, go fish-"

"Whoa, w-wait, I d-didn't say I was going to do it!"

"What the-!" He literally growled. "Why not?"

I didn't really want to hand this huge detail to such a mean person who was sure to use it against me later, but I had an inkling that if I didn't, he'd make me fish. And that'd kill me since "I have a h-_huge_ phobia of fish." I shuddered at the name that spilled out of my mouth.

He paused, a mischievous grin starting to slide into place. "_Really_, now?"

"…I knew I shouldn't have told you." I crossed my legs and placed my chin in my palms. "Ahhg, I can't stop worrying about him!" Chase opened his mouth to say something semi-encouraging (or to tell me to shut up, who can tell?), but I cut him off mid-breath. "A _whole century_! That's how long he'd be stranded in that strange world, which for all we know could be out for his blood! And even if he survives, I'd be long dead when he came back – He wouldn't return to a wedding, he'd return to a memorial!"

"Whoa, let's not get all self-important now, who said you'd get a memorial? On second thought, I know _I'd _celebrate your death every year. Then again, I'll probably die before you, studies show that men usually die before women, especially _handsome _men."

"Who says you're a man, Barrette Boy?"

He narrowed his blazing purple flames (i.e: his eyes, which were borderline-demon right now). "…Just pick something to find. And check your next hundred meals for poison and fish heads."

I snorted. "You d-don't scare me any more, Martha Stewart…I think I'll go get...um…" I poked at a smudged sketch in the top-right corner, blinking nervously when I felt how fragile the old parchment was, "That, I s'pose."

***_A short interlude of the "other side"_***

_The in-between was hardly ever disturbed. It liked it as such. It liked that its viscous black nothingness was rarely soiled with light or a creature that was nurtured by light. It liked being alone. It liked the walls that surrounded it, that protected it._

_Except that sometimes it didn't like the walls. For the walls had holes in them, tiny rips. And through these tiny holes came light. The in-between hated to endure these pinpricks, but endure it did, and constantly. And every once in a while, these hateful holes aligned with one another, and their light was so great that the in-between had to flow around it to avoid being scorched. Usually, nothing passed through it besides the rainbow of colors, but the word 'usually' meant that there was a 'sometimes'. And this day was one of those 'sometimes'._

_A small figure appeared, one atom at a time, at one end. And bathed in an array of colors, it softly, painstakingly floated down the tunnel of light._

_If the in-between could glare, it would have, for it could faintly sense the aura of magic that surrounded this particular figure. It hated magic. Magic often meant change – It was a magical being that had poked those awful holes in its walls. But 'often' shares something with 'usually', and so this was another example of 'sometimes'. This magical being meant no harm, and he did nothing as he passed through the belly of the in-between._

_It watched as he disappeared through the other wall, one atom at a time again, which the in-between would have imagined hurt an awful lot if it ever did imagine, which it never really preferred to do. Once the strange magical man was completely gone, the in-between paused for a second before returning to its favorite pastime – Obliviousness._

***-.-***

"No! You don't add…" Chase rushed over to me, arm outstretched, just as I started to put in "…that." His hand hanged limply, arm motionless in mid-air as he hung his head.

"Ohh, quit being so melodramatic. Look, it says to add baking powder right here!"

"_That's baking soda!_"

I looked between the carton's label and the recipe book page. Label. Page. Label. Page. "…So it is." And I went on to the next step.

"Oh no you don't." He practically picked me up by the scruff of my neck and deposited me in the doorway of the bar's kitchen, safely away from the bowl of batter. "You're doing something else. In fact, I changed my mind, I don't really need your help. Get out."

Stung, I strode away, pausing just outside the door. "Hey, you _asked _me to help. What do you want me to do? Pick dandelions?"

He smiled 'sweetly'. "Twenty-four, please." Then he closed the door in my face.

I've always been a doormat, from kids budging in front of me in the line for the slide to majoring in my least favorite subject – mathematics – merely because my father pressured me to. But there was just something about this man – no, _boy – _that drove me insane. So with my fists balled tight, I squinched my eyes, stuck out my tongue, and went "_Pfffththththt!_"

And of course, since the world blatantly hates me, that was the moment he decided to open the door, look at me like the fool I was, and tell me that he made a mistake and that it was in fact _forty-two_ dandelions.

And then he slammed the door. In my face. Again.

_***A long interlude of the "other side"***_

_Pain. Absolute, unadulterated, pure and agonizing pain. I knew it would be there, lying in wait for me. I knew that the feeling of my atoms being ripped from each other would be less than tolerable. I would have screamed, except my voice box and everything else necessary for sound were, as Chase would put it, "out of order". My only joy was that Molly was unable to see me now, for if she was then she would be enduring the same and exact torment that now branded itself into my very core._

_Suddenly, the space between the molecules that made up my body shrank. Mercifully, they came back together, becoming me again._

_I lay on the ground, unable to assess my surroundings, for the pain was still aching strong. One by one, my senses reluctantly returned to me. The first that hit me was the smell. Potent, thick, something that I had never smelled before in all my many years._

_It was a fairly toxic stench. In fact, it made me want to expel my morning coffee._

_The air bit at me. I guessed that it was winter, or close to it. My sense of balance told me that my body was angled down, feet higher than my head, held up by rough angles with my head at an especially uncomfortable angle, to say the least. I felt the ground below my cheek, and I cringed. It was slimy, grimy, cold. When I lifted myself slightly to get away from it, bits of it came up with my face. Grimacing, I shook my befuddled head slightly in an attempt to free myself of them. _

_I heard a constant buzz all around me, echoes of horns and shouts. And…_

_The sound of heavy breathing beside me. I finally opened my eyes to see who this gasping came from. They instantly hit twilight darkness, an atmosphere of suppressed struggle and quiet hopelessness, and a huge black mound to my left. Heart thudding, I scrabbled to stand up, sliding down the rough angles painfully, though it felt blissfully benign after my latest travels. I righted myself clumsily, legs wavering as if I had had too many cocktails. I myself had never experienced drunkenness before, but I could see its physical results from the safety of my house. Looking upon my dank surroundings, my back ached terribly when I realized that I had materialized on, among all things, cement stairs. The mound that sprawled out in front of me looked up with glassy eye. It was a man, though one so young that "boy" would have suited him better only weeks ago._

_"Whaaaa-?" he drawled, rubbing at his ruddy face. It was so covered with grime that I couldn't make out details. "You…you jist fell right outta da f***in' cloudy…ski?…shy?…Whaddaya cawl th' place up 'ere? Where all th' cold white stuff comes f'om…snow comes f'om…?"_

_I stared down at the tired man. He smelled like something relative to an orange cocktail, only even less enticing. I had read about this potion people made. They called it 'beer'. Evidently, it was the answer to everything to them. But then they'd simply forget the question. "…The…sky…?"_

_He considered the word, head cocked like a dog's. "Uh..Yea…Yeah! That…that it!" He shivered, drawing his patched jacket around his scrawny neck. "Hate tha' cold wit stuff…snow…" He looked up, suddenly curious. "Hea, you got food, man? I haven't eaten in…Gud, two days maybay… Three?" He paused. "Thee point half?...Yea..."_

_I studied him. His molasses movements. His eyes, half-blind with drink. _

_His shrunken form. How could he survive the winter?_

_I paused, examining the dark tunnel I was in. No, not tunnel. Alley. At both ends, I could see the occasional person or car creep by fervently. What I thought was the tunnel's ceiling turned out to be sky, so hazy that no stars enlightened the night._

_This saddened me. How could these people, this man, live without stars?_

_No one was around, so I told the man to close his eyes. "You c'azy? How d'I know yer not gunna murg me?"_

_"…Murg…" I murmured, having not clue what that was, but judging from the utter distrust and fear in the man's face, this was a world where survival was neither blessing nor curse. It simply was something that had to be entertained, played out until mercifully taken back, leaving the person peaceful at last. _

_I always found it ironic that people feared this peace. The one thing that scared them the most was the one thing that made them whole again. But I couldn't question their instinctual fear of the unknown as I never truly had to worry about death myself. Akari and Chase had called it a blessing. I had always seen it as a curse._

_Until I met Miss Molly._

_Her soft smile blossomed in my mind's eye, a white lily among withered weeds. I had seen so many expressions take stage across her doll-like face. Comic fear when her sprite drank his way to a feverish caffeine pitch. Curiosity and wonder the first night I spoke to her with my tongue, not my magic, and led her to the bridge. Peaceful eyes, seen through particularly thick locks of white hair – my foolish attempt at hiding from her – as she contemplated the stars with me. Stoic features thinly-veiling ravenous curiosity as she brushed my bangs aside. Astonishment and flushed cheeks when I had lost myself for a moment and kissed her._

_And then the night her eyes became tortured, tears spilling over as I told her that I was not good for her, as I told her goodbye. It killed me even now, to look upon the face of a broken heart, so beautiful even in sorrow, and to know that I had caused it. The feeling of loss was more mutual than she could even conceive, but I knew that what I had said was true, that she lost everything normal by being with me. I thought that I would be strong enough to stay away, for it was for her own good, and I would do anything for her well-being, even if it meant destroying my own ties to this world. But then _the_ night appeared, the night that I felt such a potent burst of fear that I didn't need to question the source, for it was so powerful that I saw through her eyes the red-haired man tying her up. I felt her metallic fear. I heard her plea for help ring again and again in my head. And I saw myself in her eyes, though I couldn't really inspect it as I was exerting everything I had in me to save her, but I imagine that I must have looked…not human. That happened when I panicked – I couldn't hold in my…_unusual_ qualities and abilities. My safety didn't truly matter to me when she was in such danger. But I had scared her. I saw it in her eyes._

_I also heard her as I fainted from my stupid magical over-exertion. I knew that I wasn't powerful enough to break into the forest, so why had I wasted stored energy to attempt in obvious vain? I heard her worried voice as I fell under, and that reassured me. Maybe she didn't hate me, after all I'd done. But then her expression to me turned sour dramatically as soon as I awoke, the root of it infected hurt as she naturally stewed over my leaving her. But that expression eventually softened. _

_I remembered her small smile as she called me her Guardian Angel, eyes soft, cheeks pink with the cool ocean breeze._

_And to think that, when she first burst into my sanctuary that first night, I had feared her._

_"Hey maaan?" The broken person beside me spoke out, poking my leg and clouding Molly's image from my mind. "Hey, you got fud 'er wha-?"_

_Part of me wanted to run from this man. One of the reasons I had separated myself from people was the general air of suffering they inflicted so easily and endured so indefinitely. I had always seen them as a partially malignant race, though my fate and history was entwined with theirs'. They were emotional and reckless and – at times – insane._

_But, again, that was before I met Molly._

_She would never leave this man with an empty stomach. Even if she was poorer than he, with a mere bread roll for sustenance, she would have given it to him. And I'd be even less worthy of her love if I refused to help him. But I didn't even have a bread roll to give._

_However, I _did _have something._

_If I was caught, even glanced at while at work, the consequences could be enormous. But I had to try. So once again, I looked all around us, making sure that no one was peering into our conversation. There was no one close enough to see. No one except the homeless man. "I swear that I will not…'murg'…you. I have my pride as a…man, and find it deplorable that anyone would…take advantage of you…" When he still didn't look completely convinced, I couldn't hold back a deep sigh. "Tell you what…I'll go all the way over _there_, so that you'd hear me if I…attempt anything." What could this man possibly have that I'd want anyway? Were humans _this _needlessly violent?...No, I had to stop being so prejudiced. "But you have to…promise me…that you will not watch what I'm about to do…" Though it didn't really matter. He was obviously a drunk, and even if he fully understood what I did and believed it real, no one would believe him._

_"Here goes…nothing…?" Was that the phrase? I think so. I took several deep breaths and focused, reciting incantations in my head; Words and marathon sentences in languages long forgotten swirled in my mind as if I was reading them again originally from their yellow, crinkly pages. A warm glow started to emanate from the space between myself and the brick alley wall. I didn't even try to suppress this by-product – persons of my studies had been trying for millenniums to stop the light-show which had become synonymous to stereotypical magic, all to no avail. But I suppose that the light served a purpose: In its dazzling mystery laid a distraction from the real mystery. If anyone saw me now, they'd notice the lights, not the food materializing in my hands. The light I could explain, for there were flashlights and matches and technological "gizmos" to frame. The items out of thin air (actually constructed from the dust and gas particles, but that's a technicality)? Not even Chase could worm out of that._

_I stumbled to the hunched figure – whose face was dutifully turned from me – tripping clumsily over a pile of…something. Even the simple incantation made me slightly drowsy, indicating to me that this world bogged down magic, making it harder to perform. This was worrisome, but at least I learned now instead of during a dire moment. I'd have to be far more cautious from now on. _

_The poor boy gasped when I shoved the basket into his sluggish arms, full of non-perishables and topped with a single bread roll. "This, this'd, this'd…This'd yast me for forevah! …Hey mistergh, hey, where're ya goin'? How'd yah do 'at?"_

_I only walked faster._

_"Hey, t'anks mistah!"_

_"…You're welcome." I mumbled under my breath as I burst out onto the street._

_The crowd was thin, making it easy to get in but hard to do it surreptitiously. Thankfully, these people didn't seem to look anywhere except ahead. A thatch of dirty white roses sat by the sidewalk, ignored and un-smelt._

_I brushed by the flowers. I simply couldn't waste any more time._

* * *

**Can you tell that I'm not a big fan of cities?**

**Um, I should mention that my poor little homeless boy/man does NOT represent my opinion on all homeless people. All are not drunks or stupid or dirty; I've actually met a couple who were pretty insightful and likeable and completely sober…actually, I don't think I've ever seen a drunk one. I'm just trying to make the mood - ironically enough, I think I'd call it - 'sobering'. I dunno. So…no offense is meant, and I'm truly sorry if offense was felt.**

**I've always figured that, since Wizard hardly speaks, he'd make up for it in his thoughts. Geez, it must be a never ending parade of scholarly-ness and insight in there. Sounds great-ish, but to quote Leonard from The Big Bang Theory…"It must be hell inside your head." How can a body stand to not talk for so long that it almost forgets how to speak? *shudder***

**Loony: I can't imagine it! What would we do with out our motor-mouths? *we shudder together and then talk non-stop for two hours just to numb the pain of thinking of eternal silence***


	14. Dandelions

**Whoo! Imma back! Welcome, new readers! Good to see you, old readers who, for some reason I can't comprehend, stick to this story! You're all the best!**

**Lotsa stuff has happened since I last left ya. Not only for the story (hit and surpassed the 50-review mark! Thank you guys so much!), but in real life too, which I feel compelled to tell you because…I want to. For instance…**

**1. I've always loved that one John Mayer song "Daughters", but there was this one lyric that still befuddles me. It goes, "…Girls become l-s, and turn into mothers, so fathers be good to your daughters, too…" For the longest time, I thought "l-s" was "lemons". Really. It still sounds like that, even when someone told me that it was "lovers" yesterday. Logical to the mind, sure. But logical to the ear? No lemoning way. Seriously, listen to it and hear that I speak the truth! Goddess, John Mayer, parle anglais s'il-tu plait! **

**2. Cross-Country started. I feel like I have a ferret gnawing on my hip, but really good despite that! Woo-hooooo! **

**3. I work at an ice cream shop for a summer job, and a lil while ago I saw a kid who, I swear, looked exactly like a little blonde Jay Leno. Adorable, but uncanny. Just thought I should tell ya:3 Because Jay Leno sightings are cool**

**4. Susan Collins' Mockingbird! Sorry, I do that all the time, I mean Mockingjay! Need I say more? I will. The Hunger Games series is one of the best on this blue-green earth, hands down. **

**5. For some reason, I dyed my hair pink with supposedly temporary dye. A big hunk in the front, then streaks and tips. It's all over the place, very topsy-turvy. I want to dye the remaining hair blue. Like cotton candy! Yummy scrumptious!**

**Loony: You look like Ronald McDonald…uh, but in a good way. I'll cut you off there before you say anything else stupid. Enjoy the next chapter! **

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"Hate him…Strongly dislike him….Hate him…..Strongly dislike him…" I plucked up another grinning dandelion, number thirteen, "…Hate him." Now number fourteen, which I had to stretch for, not wanting to get up off Wizard's comfy cloak. "…Strongly dislike…." Fifteen: "Hate." Sixteen: "Strongly dislike." Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty…all the way up to twenty-eight (which was 'super-strongly-stronger-than-Luna's-will dislike', which I'm starting to believe is a thinly-veiled 'Hate'), at which point I started to run out of dandelions around my station. When that happened, I flopped down on my back and stretched lazily.

"Hey~…Molly?"

"Yeah, Finny?" I yawned.

"Ummm~…" He sat down daintily on the bag of twenty-eight Goddess-darned dandelions. "Well, I was too entranced to ask while you were at it, but what exactly were you talking about?"

I studied the fluffy clouds good-naturedly. "You mean the whole 'hate/dislike' thing?" I smiled, "It was my own twist on the he-loves-me/he-loves-me-not thing lovelorn children do with flower petals." I tapped my chin, feigning deep thought. "Do I absolutely, out-right hate Chase Cooke? Or do I merely strongly dislike him? Hmmm…this world is a complex place…"

He considered this. "But…you're s'posed to pick forty-two." I rose my eyebrows at him as if to ask, 'so?' "And so… Yeah! That means that you'll end up with 'strongly dislike', since those are on even numbers, and forty-two is an even number, right?" He looked at me expectantly, positively drooling for affirmation and praise.

Good Goddess, he had quite a brain in that Beanie Baby head of his. "…You took all the fun out of it, silly." I sighed dramatically. "Well, you're the wiz, how many more flowers do I have to pick?" He didn't answer, just held a finger to his lips.

Sure enough, footsteps started falling on my ear. And then… "Molly? What are you doing…?"

I grumbled and sat up slowly, one reluctant vertebra at a time. "Who are you, and why are you waking me up from my nap time?"

"I'd say rise and shine, but it's nearly 4 o'clock in the evening. This isn't kindergarten, Molly."

I turned to teasingly glare at the owner of the sardonic voice. It reminded me very much of the subject of my dandelion game, except that it was higher pitched and the tone was more light-hearted than out-right snotty. It was a tone that only accompanied the voice because it had done so for so long that it just couldn't leave even when it wasn't needed. "Life is one big kindergarten class. We eat animal crackers, finger paint some artwork or paperwork, then go nappie-nap. It just so happens that I need my nappie-nap mat more than normal people."

"Well, you got one thing right," the small girl smiled wryly. The expression was incongruous with her cherubic face the first time I had seen it, but I had gotten used to it, "You can't be grouped with us normal people. Gilly, best put that into the Town Hall registry."

"Since when did I say you qualified as a normal person, Luna?" I smiled, just in case the joking tone didn't travel. If there was one thing I'd avoid at all costs, it'd be a pissed-off Luna Taylor.

Gill's face remained still (the boy had a poker face that'd put Lady Gaga's to shame), which made me think that he was still stinging over my complete refusal of him. Back before, back when he didn't insist on complicating our friendship, I would have at least procured a half-smile as he shook his head and questioned how he – the classy and well-groomed soon-to-be-Mayor – ended up hanging out with a vulgar farmer. Then I'd try to push him into a mud puddle, joking that if he scuffed those shiny shoes then he was no different than me. All humans could get dirt on their shoes because we walk the same earth.

But he merely stood there, shifting slowly from foot-to-foot. Ug, pride. Hubris. Something I truly admired about him, even though it annoyed me to death now.

"So what are you guys up to?" I asked amiably, hoping that he'd get over it like last time. I could wait, but not for too long.

Luna weaved her arm through Gill's. "We're on a date!"

He stared unblinkingly, blue eyes on the ground. I couldn't really make out his expression.

What was he up to? Trying for jealousy? Because if he was, he wasn't doing a good job of it – For that, you had to seem happy with the other girl, and he looked like he had a rain cloud hovering over him, ruining his silk vest and perfect blonde hair. But I didn't really peg him as that kind of guy anyway. Despite the rumors, he didn't really do manipulation, except when making business deals to ensure the well-being of the town, working with his father to strike deals with external businessmen. He tried to explain his latest meeting to me, but all those big words flitted into my brain, stayed just long enough for me to contemplate how he could just toss them out easily like I toss out 'yeah', 'you betcha', and 'huh?', then ran out to make room for the next whopper. Of the ones I'd heard about before, the only one I knew was 'taxes'. Cripes, do I hate taxes.

"Well, that's sweet!" I didn't have to act at all. I thought they really worked together, and that Luna had several qualities that he'd find endearing if he just got. His. Head. Out of. The. Gutter. "So, what're you doing?"

The color seemed to suck out of his face and soak into her cheeks. "Ohhh, nothing much! We're just walking around town, then he's taking me to dinner!" She gave him a dangerous look, "Right, Gilly?"

He grumbled. "For the last time, this is not a da-"

His sentence was cut off by Luna, who pinched his cheek and pulled it 'good-naturedly'. "Oooh, so silly! See, he has this little joke that he seems to think is hilarious or something, because he says it constantly." This last word passed through gritted teeth.

I couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to those two to make things as weird as possible. "Ahaha, yeah, well, that Gilly-kins…" He scowled, as if to say that this was the end of the world and therefore not a joking moment, and I giggled to tell him to lighten up like a light bulb.

"Anyway!" Luna started tugging at his crisp sleeve, "We've a busy date ahead of us! We might meet up with my sister and that weird dude she's weirdly dating." She stuck out her tongue as if the mere thought of Julius made her taste something unpalatable. "Gill! Come on!"

He followed, mumbling, and as he past my spot I could have sworn I heard the word 'baby-sitting'. But I didn't have much time to dissect this, because he froze and caught his eye on… "Hey, that jacket you're sitting on…It looks like…"

_*** An interlude of the "other side" ***_

_This world is, to put into common words, **weird**._

_I had followed the meager stream of people through drab, dark streets. It didn't take me long to notice that the sidewalks got gradually more congested, and the surroundings brightened at the same pace, getting more colorful._

_And now, here I was._

_I stood stationary in the middle of the huge square, looking at everything I could absorb as people continually walked around me, like a brook's current around a stable stone. A few accidently bumped into me, as is inevitable in a place with so many people and things. Even if I felt the need to apologize to them or vise versa, they were gone before I could even breathe, replaced by hundreds of others._

_But it wasn't the people I was most interested in. I stared up at the deluge of colors, banners, lights. Flashing signs blinked hurriedly, colorful tubes bent into pictures and words, light-bulbs lit up intermittently to show seemingly moving patterns. All were plastered to mountainous buildings that scraped the sky. A huge flat surface on the one I faced now showed a clear, moving picture of red and white bubbles with a funny-looking bottle. It suddenly struck me as a huge television screen, or something like._

_Everything begged attention. All clamored to be the brightest, the most vibrantly obnoxious, all to get my primeval attention._

_All it did was give me a headache._

_So this was how people made up for being devoid of magic. What a waste of resources…_

_I pulled out a copy of the three things I needed to find here, studying them for the twenty-eighth time. I wish that I could say I knew where I could find them. But the truth was, I hadn't a clue what they even were._

_"A child's talent-inducing food with one green coin." The sketch next to that showed a circular object with three layers of…something._

_"The eye of a jolly yellow bear, hewn from a wheeled booth." This picture was exactly what it promised, an eye. It was not grotesque as the angle it was draw in only showed the front, sparing the reader any gore. It was also small and beady with a few white sparkles in it. I wasn't too keen on fighting a bear, jolly or not, as I sincerely doubted that it would give up its eye without at least trying to gut me._

_I wrinkled my nose in disgust. What a lovely thought._

_My fingers were just unfolding the last ingredient when something body-slammed me from behind._

_***0.0***_

I looked up, eyes as big as that time when the boy in front of me almost caught Wizard out on the beach. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, heavy as lead, hurried with adrenaline.

Gill paused, eyes puzzled, mouth firmly shut with his loose fist pressed to his lips, obviously in deep thought.

My mouth started to get super, uh, moist. And that only happened when one of two things happened: 1, I got super-duper I'm-gonna-die-right-here-right-now-oh-there-I-go nervous or 2, I was about to up-chuck all my latest meals. And for the first time in my life, I wished it was the latter, because nothing could distract a body more efficiently that that kind of mess on their shoes, especially if they were a major neat-freak (*cough* Gill *cough*).

But of course, I couldn't barf on cue. So I just sat there, staring up as one of my best buds cranked the dark jack-in-the-box. I didn't hear the tinkling of 'Pop! Goes the Weasel'; it sounded more like a funeral dirge. If he was allowed to continue, Wizard was going to pop out, and not to childish screams of delight and rewarded anticipation.

I couldn't let that happen.

Looking at Finn for help, I noticed him gesturing at Luna, who was slowly walking away, expecting him to follow. Bingo. "Gill, you're b-being a terrible babysitter. Your charge is slipping away."

He frowned, and I wasn't sure if it was because he was still thinking or because I reminded him of his fate. But as he started to walk after her, he flashed me one quick smile, instinctually appreciating that I'd heard him when he denied its value as a 'date'. Then he seemed to remember that he was put-out with me, because the smile turned sour.

I watched as they disappeared down the street. Finn buzzed in front of my vision. "That was so stupid! What're you thinking, having his cloak out in public?"

"P-please, you didn't see anything wrong with it before Gill noticed." I chewed on the inside of my left cheek worriedly. "But you're right, that was pretty air-headed of me." I hung my head and played with the warm fabric below me. "My stupid pining is clouding my reasoning. I…I'm so s-stupid…"

"Ah…ah, wait, I didn't say that. Please don't be sad Mollyyyyyyy!"

I looked up sharply, my head accidently knocking him two feet up from where he hovered before. "N-no. Now I know!" I caught him in my palm as he drifted down, "I have no time to be sad. His return is up to himself, independent of whether or not I worry the (admittedly very worthy of worrying) days away. So until he comes back," (I did my best to not think 'if…') "I'll do my best to help!"

Finn stared up at me incredulously, probably thinking that I had a serious case of bipolarness or multiple-personalities. "Uh, yeah…yeah…YEAH!" He jumped up and swirled around me, a continual ribbon of joyful golden shine. (Maybe I wasn't the only bipolar one…Naw, this is Finn after all).

I stood up, hands on hips, a determined smile where once sat a grimace. "We can do it!"

"You betcha!" Finn pumped his fist. "And we'll start with the last fourteen dandelions!"

…Crap.

_*** An interlude of the "other side" ***_

_My breath left in one hurried 'whoof' when something rammed into me like a raging bull. This took me off-guard, but I still managed to somersault out before the bull pinned me down. I whirled around, hands raised to brace myself for whatever my attacker was plotting. That's when I saw the person splayed face-down. Had my attacker hurt a bystander? I pushed through the crowd – which was glancing at the falling person briefly before obtusely walking away – to assess the damage, casting glances everywhere for another blow._

_A soon as I reached the person, she looked up hurriedly, eyes gliding everywhere before settling up on me. My mind was already preoccupied and shocked with so many other things, but I noted that her eyes were unsettlingly familiar. "Whoa! That really stunned me! Hey, mister, are you okay? You're the one I ran into, aren't you? God, I'm so sorry, I'm just in such a hurry to get to…" She glanced at her wrist, which harbored a beaten up old watch whose band was almost completely covered in sticky black tape. "Work! Oh God, I'm late!" She jumped up and inserted herself into the stream, pushing to rush ahead of the slightly disgruntled crowd. "Soooorry, mister!" She called back faintly._

_"…" I shook my head and started walking again._

_***T.T'***_

"I'm dooooooooone!" I burst into the bar, holding up my 'kill' in the baggie. "All forty-freaking-two of them! And guess what, Chase, I only really really dislike you!" I heard the distinct sounds of retching and finally opened my eyes to see the scene before me. "Ah…"

Chase looked over angrily from his position over the sink, face half-covered by his hunched shoulder. "What?"

I blinked. "…Um…" I blinked again. Again.

"WAHHHH!" Maya ran up to me, hugging me with the strength of twenty hysterical gorillas. "Molly-Molly-Molly-Mollyyyyyyyy!"

"Gragagrphaaaaa!" I hissed. So this is what it felt to wear…a Victorian era…corset…No wonder…women often died…back then…

"Idiot!" Suddenly, the pressure crushing my body in was released, and I fell forward gasping for oxygen. How did she do that? I can't move! "You almost killed her! Like you practically killed me!" I slumped there on all threes, down on my knees and my now-sore chin. Exceedingly uncomfortable, but I hadn't the energy to move a muscle.

"But Chaaaaaaase! I only wanted you to try my new recipe because I think it's good but you're so awesome at cooking so I thought I could get your opinion but you're SO MEAN YOU MEANIE!"

"~What's…What's ~ goin' ~ on…?~" I whispered meekly below them, still not recovered from Maya's Arms of Death. They didn't even hear me.

"Well, you certainly have improved in one respect." Maya's eyes sparkled in anticipation at the compliment until he hacked twice, as if something small was caught in his throat that refused to get expelled. "I didn't recognize that slime for what it was," he huffed out, voice guttural. "You did a good job of disguising it as a PB&J sandwich. Still, I can't believe I fell for it, it's not like you're usually smart enough to fool me or anything…"

She gasped, tears flash flooding. "You jerk you meanie you rude rude rude person why do I try huh why do I even try?" She broke down crying, slumping near my crumbled form.

"Cough. Aw, M-Maya…" I tried sitting up, but I was still battered. She crossed her arms and her legs and bawled like a spanked toddler. "C'mon…" When I realized that she couldn't hear or see my attempts at condolences, I looked up at the cook's sour face. "Will you ever st-stop being such a butt-face?"

It was then that the bar's door opened up loudly, banging on the wall with a literal crash. "Uh, oops. Sorry 'bout that old picture...Hey, 's Kathy he-" The low-voiced speaker broke off, obviously noticing me. Duh, who wouldn't? I mentally slapped myself for not noticing before. Not noticing that I was facing the back of the room. Which meant that I didn't notice my butt was facing the door. "…What do we have here…?" I froze, though that was the worst thing to do right now.

Crap! Regaining use of my sore muscles and crushed lungs, I started achingly but quickly trying to sit up, trying to ignore the pains. But before I could, something slapped my butt so hard that I fell down again, this time on my side. "Ow! Ow! Hey-"

"What the hell, Owen?" Chase barged forward and yanked me up by the wrist. I stumbled from the pain and jumped when he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to his side. He looked down at me intensely. "You okay, Molly?"

"Uh, um, I-I'm…uh, y-yeah…?"

"Good." He turned to Owen. "What's your problem? You get off slapping defenseless girls or something?"

Owen's eyebrows practically rose to his red hairline.

"…No."

But his glinting eyes said 'yes.' His miniscule half-smile rejoiced 'I live for it!'

I trembled. If I felt helpless before, well, now it was a whole new level of bitter fear. Because now Wizard wasn't here to throw him back into the forest.

"Well, knock it off!" Chase growled. "It's just wrong. You don't touch her. You don't touch anyone. You have a girlfriend now, dammit. Start acting like a man." I looked up at him, heart beating fast at the dangerous expression I saw there. His jaw was set, and his eyes were far more fiery than I'd ever seen before. He looked like he wanted to rip Owen's face off and deep-fat-fry it.

…Maybe he wasn't as horrible as I thought.

The smith snorted me out of my reverie. "Like I'd take masculinity advice from the Boy of Hair Accessori- Whoa, whoa, dude, I'm just joshing ya, go back to your girlfriend and un-clench your fists." He crossed his huge arms. "Man."

"W-wait." Maya looked up, big watery eyes flickering between us like a puppy's when its owners are about to leave it alone for a looooong while. "You, you're dating? As in going out? As in as in as in as in as in boyfriend-slash-girlfriend?"

I held up a shaky hand, "Aha, n-"

"Yep!" Chase hugged me tightly, hand over my open mouth. He removed it and mussed my hair. "Just started last night!"

"Oho, last night, eh?" Owen chuckled. I felt Chase's arms tighten when he spoke.

"Ah, n-no." I reached out to Maya, "No, it's n-not what you thi-"

She slapped my hand away and ran past Owen. "Molly you meanie I can't believe I trusted you! Kathy was right!" I flinched as the much-abused door slammed behind her.

"Someone call mah name?"

Owen beamed and walked past us, giving us a wide berth. "Hey beautiful, I was just looking for ya."

Kathy giggled and kissed his nose. "Oh, yer so sweet." She looked around, frowning. "Was that Maya back there cryin'?"

Owen sighed. "Well, you know, Chase…" He glared right at the cook, who glared back with far more real anger.

"Ah, say no mo', so no mo'." She instantly brightened up. "Well now, where to, hon?"

"You'll see." This was said with a chuckle. To her, it probably sounded warm and loving. To me, it just sounded ominous. Just before they closed the door behind them, Kathy looked back and frowned at us. I smiled sheepishly, still wanting her to like me.

She looked surprised, then scowled and stuck out her tongue. Eh, no dice I guess.

Chase let go of me as soon as the knob clicked. "Gee, G-man never lies."

"Lies? W-what d'you mean?"

He shrugged and took the bag of dandelions from me, which I'd completely forgotten was still clenched in my hand. "Well, most of us guys know he's bad news. But the girls and adults don't really believe us because he's got such a good – …uh, whacha call it… – façade. Doesn't hurt that he's so stinking tall and 'handsome' as the chicks put it, sickeningly often might I add. You try to tell them he's a sick bastard, they call you jealous." He ground his teeth audibly. "It drives me crazy."

I pulled out the closest chair and sat down, ignoring the ache I got when I did so. It always made me sad to see how – despite all the fairy tales and fables and children's stories promoting looking inside a person – we still only judged skin-deep.

He stopped short and crossed his arms, still frowning. "Sorry for the rant. To answer your question, I just never thought he'd choose you to attack. The only people he used to were Selena and Candace. But he never risked anything worse than verbal and major invading-of-space. And he knows he'll never get caught, because Selena's too proud to tell, and Candace is too meek and scared. Why he'd risk his cover with a new girl, whose reaction might be loud, I have no clue." The lines on his forehead deepened. "And to slap you with Maya right there, even if she was deaf and blind to the world at the time…he's getting sloppy."

"…Is that g-good or b-bad?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Good, I suppose, if he gets caught. All I really know is, your fiancé told me to protect you."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, giving what I hoped was a scrutinizing effect. I probably just looked far-sighted. "Is that why you told them we were dating? Because I didn't quite appreciate that. As you just said, I do have a fiancé." The word sent a small ray of warmth through me. It wasn't unpleasant at all.

There was that smirk again. "Well, I suppose that I had a couple reasons. Wiz said to protect you, and Owen might back-off if you had a man-" I opened my mouth to say that I'd 'had a man' for a while now, but he cut me off and shut me up with "-in the public eye." He cocked his head at me, still smirking. "But mainly, I need a break from Maya."

I rolled my eyes. "So you sic 'er on me. Figures. You know, she was one of the few people who didn't hate me."

He shook his head. "What are you insinuating?" I looked at him. "…I got that word from Book-Worm-Wizard. Anyway, the general consensus is you're a little quiet and weird, but the only ones that really can't stand you are Kathy and your rooster." Yeah, well, the feeling was quite mutual when it came to that stupid bird. "Maya never truly stays angry with anyone. Why do you think she keeps coming back to me?"

"What about Sele-?"

"Selena couldn't care less about anything besides her dancing and Luke."

Huh. "And how do you know this? Or are you just making it up to make me shut up?"

"Well, shutting up would be helpful." This was said half-heartedly, but it stung me a little nonetheless. "But it is true. Every once in a while, G-man flits through the minds of all the townspeople, just to check if anything problematic has happened. I hear tid-bits of what he gets if I watch. Some of the randomest stuff ever. And I mean ever." He stared off into space, remembering. "Did you know that Bo's parents used to dress him up as a girl as a child? Especially Tinker Bell. Heh. No wonder he fled to Dale as soon as he got a working permit."

I couldn't help but giggle at that. I mean, I absolutely love Bo, but…pfffttt!

"Irene and Pascal have a thing, a like-dislike relationship. She thinks he's too wishy-washy – pun intended. And they each think the other's nose is weird. But I wouldn't be surprised if they get close."

Well, I didn't need a crystal ball for that. Pascal often mentioned the midwife on our trip here. "Eh, okay."

"In his prime, Mayer Hamilton was a model for some brand called, um, 'Klein Calvin?'"

"Whoa! You j-just crossed the l-line! You cr-crossed it and threw crap all ov-ver i-i-i-i-i-i-i-t!" I broke down laughing, tears of mirth pouring down my cheeks.

Chase just watched, perplexed. He obviously didn't know what Calvin Klein usually used its models for. And I wasn't about to tell him.

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**Grrrr, I was having _difficulties _with this site, so excuse me if something went wrong with it. Me and Mr. Document Manager were having a _minor dispute_ on what was italicized and what was bolded and where lines went and whether or not to repeat script ten thousand times over and over and over...**

**Do I sound a little annoyed? Cuz I am. ****Anyway, I showed Mr. Document Manager who's boss and now he's nursing a grudge and a bucket of Haagen Daas somewhere on the Internet. So there. Anyway...**

**One week til school for me an' Loony! What about you guys? Anyone excited? Scared? Couldn't care less? I was ecstatic until I got my schedule. Now I'm scared to death. But my first class of my sophomore year is art, so that's a good omen if anything! I get to end the day with Gym (blech) and Trig (do I hafta pay attention this year?). But yay! Fwiends! Everyone gets a nice big bear hug!**

**One problem with this, though. I don't know how long it'll take me to update when the year starts. I won't abandon it though, pinky swear, cross my heart and hope to die stick a needle in my eye eat a horse manure pie!**


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